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I is for IMAGINE! Rhymes of hope to shout together, by Bruno Tognolini and Giulia Orecchia, translated by Denise Muir (Poetry) #AtoZ

Apr10
Book cover of I is for IMAGINE! Rhymes of hope to shout together, by Bruno Tognolini and Giulia Orecchia, translated by Denise Muir; shows bright-colored collage image of a young drummer marching with a vivid sun behind them.

April is Poetry Month – and time to Imagine!

Translated from Italian, these wide-ranging wishes of children and those who love them have usual rhyming word pairs, as well as subtle ones:

“If only the world outside could be taught
Not in the classroom — our teachers, they ought
To open the window, show how things happen
How much we’d fathom … Imagine!” (pg. 6)

Vibrant collage illustrations accompany each of the 24 poems, which all begin with “If only” and end with the command/wish/dream “Imagine!”

“If only these things could change for the better
New days could dawn full of music and laughter
A drum beat to make all our heartbeats align
With love all the time … Imagine!” (pg. 45)

Visit the publisher’s site https://www.redcometpress.com/picturebooks/imagine for a teaching guide AND a video with all the poems as verses of a song!

What better world and neighborhood can you imagine?
**kmm

Book info: Imagine!: Rhymes of hope to shout together / Bruno Tognolini, illustrated by Giulia Orecchia, translated by Denise Muir. Red Comet Press, 2022. [author site brunotognolini.com] [artist site giuliaorecchia.it] [publisher site https://www.redcometpress.com/picturebooks/imagine] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

H is spooky HARVEST HOUSE, a stalker nearby, and young Native women in danger! by Cynthia Leitich Smith (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr9
Book cover of Harvest House, by Cynthia Leitich Smith; shows a native teen boy walking away from a haunted house, surrounded by crows; upside down image of dark-haired young woman walking through dead trees with flying crows.

She was killed at the crossroads.
He still stalks young Native women,
so her spirit lingers there and attacks!

School budget cuts mean no fall play, and Hughie is bereft. Guess the indigenous teen will have time to volunteer at the haunted house fundraiser with new pal Sam after all.

Ick – the Harvest House organizer makes the legend of a Native girl killed at the Kansas crossroads into a racist trope and asks Hughie (Muscogee) and Sam (Hispanic) to dress up as murderous savages.

Sam’s sister works at the crossroads’ Grub Pub, is stalked by a guy one night, and then saved by the intervention of …a wolf!

Hughie helps student reporter Cricket connect with local elders and area history as the teens begin researching the mystery of the crossroads.

Progress on Harvest House maze (no Indian burial ground, please), seeking info on past encounters with the crossroads stalker, trying to ask Marie on a real date – Hughie’s life is suddenly complicated and not just a little dangerous.

Why do so many weird things happen at this particular crossroads?
Will Hughie’s spring play script with non-White characters be accepted?
Will the crossroads ever be safe for young dark-haired women?

Each chapter counts down the days until Halloween, interspersed with mysterious asides from Celeste who commands animals and birds to protect young women alone at night at the crossroads.

Find the story of Hughie’s big sister Louise during their family’s first year in Kansas in Hearts Unbroken, recommended at https://booksyalove.com/?p=10216.

Do you know a local legend that’s grounded in facts?
**kmm

Book info: Harvest House / Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick Press, 2023 (paperback 2024). [author site https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/ya-books/ya_index/] [publisher site https://www.candlewick.com/9781536218602/harvest-house/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

F is for fashion, friendship & faith ANY WAY YOU LOOK, by Maleeha Siddiqui (MG fiction) #A2Z

Apr7
book cover of Any Way You Look, by Maleeha Siddiqui; shows 3 tween girls at a clothing store counter, 1 wearing hijab with skirt & leggings, 1 with modest top & leggings, 1 wearing hijab with trendy slacks.

Summer means time for fun,
time with her friends,
time to work in her mom’s custom clothing shop at last!

Aspiring designer Ainy is eager to build up her portfolio of modest fashions and give her Amma more time to make the stylish saris, dresses, and salwar kameez so popular with the Southeastern Asian women in their Virginia suburb.

Her grandmother’s cancer took dad back to Pakistan for a time, so the new shop must succeed!

So busy now! Friend time with Safiya goes down, and stress about their biggest client’s son Yasir harassing her goes up. Maybe if Ainy starts wearing the hijab now, instead of on the first day of 7th grade, he’ll stop noticing her.

Amma says Ainy can design the bridesmaids’ dresses for Yasir’s sister – will she finish in time?
Is her crush on Izyann immodest for a good Muslim girl, even when boys and girls don’t hang out?
Big sister Bajjo suddenly stops wearing the hijab – why?

Dressmaking deadlines, financial worries, wondering if she’s choosing to wear the hijab for the right reasons…
Any way you look, this will be a different summer than Ainy expected!

By the author of Barakah Beats, recommended here at https://booksyalove.com/?p=12568.

When have you had to decide to follow your friends’ lead or not?
**kmm

Book info: Any Way You Look / Maleeha Siddiqui. Scholastic Press, 2024. [author site https://www.maleehasiddiqui.com/books-1] [publisher site https://tradecatalog.scholastic.com/tradecatalog/any-way-you-look-9781339010267.html#key-details] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

E is EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT INDIANS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (Young Readers Edition), by Anton Treuer (YA nonfiction) #AtoZ

Apr5
book cover of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition), by Anton Treuer; shows intricate Native American beadwork design including cattails, vines and different flowers

“When did Natives really get to North America?”
“How many tribal languages are spoken in the Americas?”
“Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?”

If you’ve wondered about questions like these, but didn’t know where to get reliable information, this book is for you!

Dr. Treuer (tribally enrolled Ojibwe https://www.mnhs.org/fortsnelling/learn/native-americans/ojibwe-people) clearly and unflinchingly answers 200 questions about terminology, history, religion, culture, and identity, powwow, tribal languages, politics, economics, education, and social activism related to Native peoples of North America.

Some are fact-based like “What is a sweat lodge?” and “When did the U.S. government stop making treaties with Indians and why?”

Other answers express a range of responses, such as “What general terms are most appropriate for talking about North America’s first people?” and “Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?”

Adapted by the author from his widely-acclaimed title for adults, this book concludes with questions and answers on Perspective: Coming to Terms and Future Directions, the author’s Conclusion: Finding Ways to Make a Difference, and recommended reading for each section.

Search online for Anton Treuer to find his many videos about Native culture, Objiwe language, and more. See the publisher’s site https://www.levinequerido.com/anton-treuer for this book’s teaching guides, too.

Whatever you ever wanted to know about Indians/Native Americans/First Peoples, this book is an excellent place to start – and you’ll find answers to questions that you didn’t realize that you needed to ask.
**kmm

Book info: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) / Anton Treuer. Levine Querido, 2024. [author site https://antontreuer.com/] [publisher site https://www.levinequerido.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indians] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

C is THE CARTOONISTS CLUB at middle school – hooray! by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud (MG Graphic Novel) #AtoZ

Apr3
book cover of The Cartoonists Club, by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud; shows 4 tweens of different genders and races - drawing, jumping, laughing, and clutching a notebook tightly

Welcome to the Cartoonists Club!

Makayla imagines so many characters, but she wonders how to make a story with them.

Howard draws such funny characters, but he can’t figure out what should they do next.

Art loves to make all kinds of things, and they want to try every creative medium – all of them!

Lynda’s sketches are realistic, but she worries about making mistakes and how personal her story is.

With help from Ms. Fatima, their middle school librarian who also loves comics and graphic novels, the tweens learn how sequential storytelling works, how to make a zine from a single sheet of paper, the role of the reader’s imagination, and so much more.

A local comics convention?!
Can the Cartoonists Club go?
Can they have a table and sell their zines to everyone?

Just published this week, by the authors of Smile (Raina) and How to Understand Comics (Scott).

Visit the book’s website https://kids.scholastic.com/content/kids64/en/books/books-by-raina.html to download a free activity booklet, bookmark, and certificate.

Grab your copy today for a great friendship story, cool sequential art, and lots of insider info on how comics are created.

What’s your favorite comic/graphic novel?
**kmm

Book info: The Cartoonists Club / art & story by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud; inking by Ray Baehr; color by Beniam C. Hollman; lettering by Jesse Post. Scholastic/Graphix, 2025. [Raina’s site https://goraina.com/] [Scott’s site https://kids.scholastic.com/content/kids64/en/books/books-by-raina.html ] [publisher site https://kids.scholastic.com/content/kids64/en/books/books-by-raina.html] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

B is BUILD A GIRLFRIEND from exes’ critiques? by Elba Luz (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr2
book cover of Build A Girlfriend, by Elba Luz; shows a Puerto Rican teen with 3 different outfits & hair styles. The image is divided into 4 horizontal slices that have been shifted sideways so the faces, torsos, legs, and shoes don't match.

Her family is cursed!
No “happily ever after” ever.
Maybe she can create a way to keep love!

Yet again, Amelia is single, just like her mother and her three aunts – no romantic relationship ever lasts for the Hernandez women.

Much as she loves them and her sisters, the high school senior doesn’t love the idea of running their family Puerto Rican bakery someday. She itches to get out of the big house they all share, so she secretly applied for a gap year program abroad and has almost enough saved up to go!

After Amelia’s most recent breakup, her sister sets up a “Romance Boot Camp” to help Amelia harness her best qualities. Why not try out her improved outlook on some of her ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends?

One leaves her hanging on a climbing wall (that video goes viral), another embarrasses her at karaoke.

And Leon is back, two years after he broke up with her – by text! She can’t avoid him as they both work toward the bakery’s grand opening… and perhaps she doesn’t want to.

How will her family react to her post-graduation escape plan?
Why can’t she master any job at the big fair?
Is there any possibility at all to reunite with Leon?

Supported by aura readings, makeup hints, empanadas, and unconditional family love, Amelia has to stop selling herself short and go for the future she longs for.

What kind of second-chance date with an ex would you choose?
**kmm

Book info: Build a Girlfriend / Elba Luz. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

It’s April #AtoZ time again!

Mar31

It’s been longer than I care to say since I posted book recommendations here… life happens.

So much has happened in recent months in the US, and I wonder often what I can do to fight against the darkness.

BOOKS! I will do what BooksYALove has always done – recommend middle grade and young adult books beyond the bestsellers, especially those reflecting diverse communities and marginalized people

April’s AtoZ blog challenge http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ is a good way for me to get going again. I’ve successfully participated every April since 2011! See all my past posts through the A2Z tag in the sidebar.

So you’ll get 26 human-written recommendations of great MG and YA books, from A to Z, every April day except Sundays.

Time to read!
**kmm

They search to see WINGS IN THE WILD – wings of hope? by Margarita Engle (YA book review)

May8
Standing brown girl paints mural of tropical birds while seated brown boy serenades her with guitar - book cover of Wings In the Wild, by Margarita Engle

Creative people caged like birds,
our overheating planet –
where is justice?

Fleeing Cuba when their massive wood sculptures protesting the imprisonment of artists are revealed by a hurricane in 2018, Soleida is separated from her parents – the sixteen year old animal rescuer must continue out into the world, alone.

Yet another wildfire consumes his parents’ California mansion and the forest where Dariel serenades animals with Cuban love songs. Better to leave their elite expectations and go with Abuelo to help interview Cuban refugees stranded in Costa Rica, experience its natural wonders before climate change destroys them, too.

In spring 2019, Soleida and Dariel meet among the sea of refugee tents – her hopes of freedom shredded to the bone, his anger at these injustices burning hot.

What will she think of the tropical animals and birds that move in closer and closer to hear his songs and guitar?
What will he think of her journey-story, surviving fear and flood and hunger, leaving her parents behind?

Together, they find her artist cousin nearby in the cloud forest.
Together, can they let the world know about her parents, trapped in Cuba?
Together…can they have any future together?

Watching incredible birds, painting them, singing them near, pondering what could be – this novel-in-verse traverses difficult situations and wonder-filled landscapes.

Readers will recognize Soleida’s neighbors Liana and Amado from Your Heart, My Sky (recommended here), much like the interwoven stories of people who have left Cuba connect with those remaining there. Just released in paperback on April 23, 2024.

How far would you go to be free?
**kmm

Book info: Wings in the Wild / Margarita Engle. Atheneum, hardcover 2023, paperback 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Z is for alien Zyx fused with FELIX YZ – can they survive separation? by Lisa Bunker (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr30
DNA spiral rising vertically from book title of Felix Yz, by Lisa Bunker

Thirty days till the Procedure –
a successful separation
or death sentence for them both?

The gigantic experiment that killed his scientists father fused a fourth-dimensional alien into Felix at age three, leaving his body contorted and hyperintelligent Zyx permanently part of his brain.

Zyx is a secret from everyone except Felix’s older sister Beatrix (piano genius), Mom, and Grandy (grandparent who is Vera with pearls or Vern in flannel or neither) – and the government group where Dad worked.

When Zyx encounters something new, its enthusiasm causes body spasms so Felix is shunned or bullied at school, his own mental capacity questioned by most teachers, except Mrs. C who encourages him to enter the annual essay contest.

The government experts say that the 13 year old and Zyx must be separated now, or Felix won’t grow to adulthood!

Felix journals what he and Zyx think about and encounter during the 30 days leading up to the Procedure – Zyx’s new-found joy in online chess making Mom’s boyfriend think Felix is a chess genius; Felix finally talking to his crush Hector, then a big misunderstanding; Zyx taking Felix on a small journey into the fourth dimension…

Because whether Zyx and Felix survive the Procedure or not, now is the time to celebrate the most important things in life! And finish that essay.

If you knew you had a short time to live, what would you do first?
**kmm

Book info: Felix Yz / Lisa Bunker. Puffin Books, hardcover 2017, paperback 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Personal copy; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

W is WELCOME TO OUR TABLE: A Celebration of What Children Eat All Around the World, by Laura Mucha, Ed Smith, Harriet Lynas (Picturebook review) @A2Z

Apr26
Many children from various countries sharing a multicultural meal around a large white tablecloth, book cover of Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat All Around the World, by Laura Mucha & Ed Smith, illustrated by Harriet Lynas.

Noodles, potatoes, rice,
veggies fresh or pickled,
herbs and spices and yum!

Welcome, welcome! Our table is set with the tools we need (chopsticks, a flat-bottomed spoon, or our hands), and our senses are ready – let’s eat together!

Rice or corn or bread or noodles or potatoes could be the foundation of our meal – so many shapes and textures and flavors to enjoy.

Our food is more interesting because we add spices, herbs, peppers, tomatoes – each place in the world has its favorites.

Perhaps you’ve tried kimchi or other pickled vegetables. Molokhia and choy sum are green vegetables that might be new to you.

Beans, nuts, and soybeans are proteins that help our bodies stay strong, as are meats and seafood – look at all the wonderful ways they are cooked!

Oh, the lovely sweet ways to finish our meals – ice cream, fruit, pastries! Bananas are the most-eaten fruit in the world – can you guess the second most popular? *

Readers can learn to say “happy eating” and words about texture and “delicious” and “goodbye” in several languages, with phonetic pronunciations included for every non-English food word in the entire book.

Foods from 103 countries are featured in this attractive introduction to what we share around the table at mealtimes, fascinating for kids who want to know what their age-mates in other lands are eating and interesting for adults who want to expand their culinary horizons. Picture books are Everybody books!

Where did your favorite lunch food originate?
**kmm

Book info: Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat All Around the World / Laura Mucha & Ed Smith; illustrated by Harriet Lynas. Nosy Crow, 2023. [Laura’s site] [Ed’s site] [Harriet’s site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

(* It’s watermelon!!)