Tag Archive | travel

Always leave THE FIRST BLADE OF SWEETGRASS, Grandmother says, by Suzanne Greenlaw, Gabriel Frey, Nancy Baker (Picturebook review)

Nov29
book cover of The First Blade of Sweetgrass: a Native American Story / Suzanne Greenlaw & Gabriel Frey; illustrated by Nancy Baker. Published by Tilbury House Publishers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Musquon’s first trip to the salt marsh with Grandmother to gather sweetgrass!

But in an ocean of grasses, how will the young girl know which kind to pick?

Grandmother patiently shows her the emerald green grass with a purple bottom and reminds Musquon that her ancestors are here with them, where so many have carefully picked sweetgrass for basketmaking and spiritual medicine.

Musquon breathes the salty air, remembering that Grandmother learned as a small girl in this same marsh to pass over the first blade of sweetgrass she finds: “If we never pick the first blade, we will never pick the last one.”

Soon she will learn how to braid sweetgrass and help Grandmother make baskets as the Wakenabi people have done for countless generations.

The authors note the cultural significance of sweetgrass for First Nations’ peoples in their home state of Maine and beyond, as well as a glossary of Passamaquoddy-Maliseet words used in the story including Musquon (“blue sky”) who shares a name with one of their daughters. Watch an interview with the authors here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7weayTgxwgk

What gifts of the natural world are important to you?

**kmm

Book info: The First Blade of Sweetgrass: a Native American Story / Suzanne Greenlaw & Gabriel Frey; illustrated by Nancy Baker. Tilbury House Publishers, 2021. [author & illustrator interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

We are still HOPE NATION, our favorite YA authors remind us, edited by Rose Brock (nonfiction book review)

Nov23
book cover of Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration / Rose Brock, editor. Published by Penguin Teen | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Us versus them or together we can succeed?
Time to give in or time to persevere?
Time to hold onto hope with our whole heart!

Written in the wake of the 2016 elections, the personal essays by these well-known YA authors call us to continue finding reasons to hope – and work – for a better future together:
Atia Abawi, Renee Ahdieh, Libba Bray, Howard Bryant, Ally Carter, Ally Condie, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Gayle Forman, Romina Garber, I. W. Gregorio, Kate Hart, Brendan Kiely, David Levithan, Alex London, Marie Lu, Julie Murphy, Jason Reynolds, Aisha Saeed, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Nicola Yoon, Jeff Zentner.

“What I really think is that hope is in the work. That it lives in the space between what’s been done and what could be accomplished,” counsels Kate Hart (pg. 119) reminding Hope Nation that our work is fighting for what’s right.

Angie Thomas recounts an event from her book tour for The Hate U Give, where a Black woman asked those present “Can we begin to listen to one another, and can we change things?” (pg. 65) following racist incidents at their New Jersey high school – this is Hope Nation.

When bigots try to ban books in your school or town, stand against them and remember Jeff Zentner’s words: “Nothing forces people to confront the humanity of others like engaging with their stories” (pg. 92) – Hope Nation doesn’t see everyone else as ‘other’ like the bigots prefer.

Where do you find your hope?
**kmm

Book info: Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration / Rose Brock, editor. Penguin Teen, 2018 [editor site] [publisher site] Personal collection; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Which side of his family will LUMBERJACKULA follow? by Mat Heagarty & Sam Owen (Graphic Novel review)

Nov18
book cover of graphic novel Lumberjackula / words by Mat Heagarty, art by Sam Owen. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Chop, chop, chop!
Eerie, eerie, spooky!
What to do? What to do?

Choosing a secondary school is so important! Should young Lumberjackula go to Sorrow’s Gloom Vampire Academy like Dad and Grandpa or to Mighty Log Lumberjack Prep like Mom and her parents did?

The 11 and a half year old will try one day at each school so he can see where he fits best.

But Jack splashes out during the essential lumberjack skill of log-rolling, and he’s scared of heights, so the flying part of being a vampire is out.

Feeling out of place at both schools, Jack dances out his stress in the woods, where a fairy dancer sees him and invites him to try the dance school she attends in a nearby town.

Fibbing to his parents about another trial day at each of their schools, Jack treks to Tip Tap Twinkle Toes Dance Academy where he’s warmly welcomed and complimented on his technique.

This is where he belongs! But how will he convince his family that dancing is the better choice for him?

Some family drama, some friend misunderstanding, and a ManaTeen giving good advice – it’s your future to decide, Lumberjackula!

Enjoy this video interview with writer Mat and artist Sam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwhhJHbHEFg

What family tradition have you veered away from?
**kmm

Book info: Lumberjackula / words by Mat Heagarty, art by Sam Owen. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2022. [author site] [artist info] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

In a world GONE DARK, the prepper skills she longs to forget may save them, by Amanda Panitch (YA book review)

Nov17
book cover of Gone Dark, by Amanda Panitch. Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books /Simon & Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Forget how she got away,
just think of the future,
till it all goes dark.

Zara and her mom have a better life in southern California, five years gone since they escaped from her father’s survivalist compound back east.

Computer games instead of skinning squirrels? What teen girl wouldn’t leave behind such a hard life? But her father’s voice still echoes that the world is ending soon… no wonder Zara has panic attacks.

Then the sporadic power outages become a nationwide blackout, and civilized behavior vanishes, just like Dad predicted. When a huge stranger barges into their darkened house and calls for Zara by name, the 17 year old knows it’s time to leave.

Unable to get Mom to safety, Zara and her best friends head away from the coast, trying to outrun the threatening stranger and avoid danger on the road.

A Mormon fortress welcomes them, but can they ever leave?
More people join the group as they travel – can they stay safe together?
If they reach the hidden compound, can they survive its border traps?

This future where the electric grid fails large-scale could be tomorrow, just like the difficulties that Zara and friends endure in a world gone dark.

What’s your emergency plan for disasters?
**kmm

Book info: Gone Dark / Amanda Panitch. Margaret K. McElderry Books /Simon & Schuster, 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Sports, school, and living Pride with this week’s free audiobook selections!

Jun24

Your Sora shelf (setup info here) has room for lots of audiobooks, including this week’s Pride stories.

Download either or both of these professionally produced audiobooks – free! – by Wednesday 6/29/22, and they’re yours to listen to as long as you can access your Sora shelf online!

Remember to check your local public library or independent bookstore for any AudioSYNC titles that you may have missed – you’ll be amazed at their selections!

CD cover of Fence: Striking Distance, by Sarah Rees Brennan, Johanna the Mad, C. S. Pacat | Read by Will Collyer. Published by Hachette Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Fence: Striking Distance (free Sora download 6/23-6/29/2022)
by Sarah Rees Brennan, Johanna the Mad, C. S. Pacat | Read by Will Collyer
Published by Hachette Audio

Illegitimate son of an Olympic fencer barely qualifies for the fencing team at his elite high school – how can Nick fit in with his rich classmates?

Team-building exercises bring Nick, Seiji, Aiden, and Harvard closer together… how much closer? This audiobook is based on a graphic novel!

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/185517/fence-striking-distance-by-sarah-rees-brennan-johanna-the-mad-c-s-pacat-read-by-will-collyer/

swirling lines divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159
CD cover of Honestly Ben - Openly Straight, by Bill Konigsberg | Read by Dan Bittner. Published by Scholastic Audiobooks | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Honestly Ben – Openly Straight, book 2 (free Sora download 6/23-6/29/2022)
by Bill Konigsberg | Read by Dan Bittner
Published by Scholastic Audiobooks

Sensitive 17 year old Ben pushed away his best friend Rafe when like became maybe-love. Now he’s dealing with his grumpy dad, a new school, and super-macho baseball teammates.

Add to this his search to figure out whether he’s straight, gay, or gay-for-Rafe…

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/128289/honestly-ben-by-bill-konigsberg-read-by-dan-bittner/

What other Pride stories would you like to read with your ears?
**kmm

divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159

What is stalking cryptid healer SORCELINE & her classmates? by Sylvia Douye & Paola Antista (Graphic novel review)

Jun22
book cover of Sorceline, by Sylvia Douye; illustrated by Paola Antista. Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Studying mythic creatures,
learning how to heal them,
all she’s ever dreamed of!

Late to her first cryptozoology class because her guide was eaten en route, Sorceline is thrilled to be on the Isle of Voon, but the Professor’s assistant (a vampire who can endure sunlight…) calls the teens outside where a gorgon lies unconscious!

Brooding, quiet Merope knows the correct first response, so he will care for the gorgon who needs unicorn blood to survive.

When Tara goes missing during their night field trip to find a unicorn, everyone is worried; when a pile of shattered glass is found in her place, they’re worried and puzzled – what creature can do this?

Zombie pixies? Everyone knows pixies never come out at night, but one bites Sorceline who yells insults, then watches in horror as it turns into glass!

The Professor said that only one of these six students would become his apprentice – who or what is trying to eliminate some of the competition?

Sorceline’s gift is identifying magical creatures with just one look – can she help the Professor find what he needs to cure those turned into glass? Or is she the cause?

Alcide is smitten with Sorceline, utterly obsessed – is he a real teenager or a mythic creature himself?

Originally published in France as a three-part bande dessinee, Sorceline was just released in the US last month – stunning art with so many mystical creatures on the eerie island!

How do you maintain friendships while competing for the same goal?
**kmm

Book info: Sorceline / Sylvia Douye; illustrated by Paola Antista. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2022. [illustrator site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Eerie Southern gothic tales to read with your ears (Audiobooks)

Jun16

Are you ready for delightful frights? This week’s free, professionally produced audiobooks are ready for you to download into your Sora account (info here), through Wednesday, 6/22/22.

Choose either or both selections, and they’re yours to listen to as long as you can access your Sora shelf online!

Did you miss any earlier free AudioSYNC selections? Just check your local public library or independent bookstore.

Time to shiver and watch over your shoulder…

cd cover of Bacchanal, by Veronica G. Henry. Read by Robin Miles. Published by Brilliance Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Bacchanal (free Sora download 6/16-6/22/22)
by Veronica G. Henry | Read by Robin Miles
Published by Brilliance Audio

The carnival traveling through her southern town during the Depression intrigues a young woman whose ability to communicate with animals averts an alligator wrestling disaster.

She gladly accepts the owner’s invitation to join the carnival, little realizing what evil it hides.

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/198866/bacchanal-by-veronica-g-henry-read-by-robin-miles/

swirly lines clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159
cd cover of Cemetery Girl: Book One: The Pretenders, by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden. Read by a Full Cast. Published by Graphic Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Cemetery Girl: Book One: The Pretenders (free Sora download 6/16-6/22/22)
by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden | Read by a Full Cast
Published by Graphic Audio

Waiting for her memory to return after nearly being murdered, Calexa stays in a suburban cemetery crypt.

Who tried to kill the young woman – and why?

This audio adaptation of a graphic novel includes sound effects and a full cast of 15 performers.

https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/96952/cemetery-girl-book-one-the-pretenders-by-charlaine-harris-christopher-golden-read-by-a-full-cast/

What’s spookier – reading a scary story or hearing it?
**kmm

divider clipart http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/mondays-throughout-the-day-17164159

Magic & music together are forbidden – should SOFI AND THE BONE SONG change that? by Adrienne Tooley (YA book review)

Jun15
book cover of Sofi and the Bone Song, by Adrienne Tooley. Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Winter won’t go away,
talent isn’t always rewarded,
what else will Sofi endure? (don’t ask…)

After years of obsessive practicing, long-motherless 16 year old Sofi’s perfect performance is upstaged by an untutored young woman who didn’t even bring a lute to the Guild audition, yet wins apprenticeship to the ruling lute Musik, Sofi’s own father.

Lara didn’t use a Paper to perform, or all would have seen the spell inked into her skin – music is the only craft forbidden to use the Paper spells sold by the king.

When Sofi’s father suddenly dies, Lara must immediately qualify to be the lute Musik by traveling through the country and performing specific complex songs in certain towns – songs that Sofi knows and Lara doesn’t.

Away the two young women go with the Musik’s lute made of bones, through their ever-winter land, knowing that some Musiks of the Guild want Lara to succeed, but if she fails, perhaps Sofi has a chance at her life’s dream.

Why did the seasons stop changing when they were babies?
Is Lara using illegal magic to learn this complicated music so fast?
Will the malfunctioning Papers sold to neighboring kingdoms lead to war?

Rivalry becomes companionship and so much more, as Lara and Sofi begin to truly understand the magic of their musical gifts and their growing bond with one another.

What instrument would you play if magically given the skill?
**kmm

Book info: Sofi and the Bone Song / Adrienne Tooley. Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster, 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

They must find more LITTLE MONARCHS, butterflies vital for humanity’s survival! by Jonathan Case (Middle Grade graphic novel review)

Jun14
book cover of Little Monarchs, by Jonathan Case. Published by Margaret Ferguson Books / Holiday House | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Sun-sickness wiped out mammals,
some humans survive underground,
can any ever see daylight again?

By 2101, only two people on Earth can survive sunshine – young Elvie and scientist Flora who’s caring for the 10 year old while Elvie’s parents travel onward as the team perfects a cure for sun-sickness.

Monarch butterflies carry the needed ingredient on their wings, so Flora and Elvie follow their migration south along what used to be the western USA, scavenging from former cities, foraging wild foods, and avoiding known underground settlements.

Elvie documents nature and schoolwork in her journal, while Flora tests and retests ways to make larger quantities of the monarch wing-scale medicine that prevents sun-sickness.

After an earthquake, they find a small boy near an abandoned settlement, so Flora gives him a dose of medicine and they keep going. Elvie left behind a note and some medicine, in case anyone returns to look for little Sito.

Wow, his family does follow them and wants to travel along – safety in numbers, right? Right?!?

This outstanding graphic novel documents their perilous journey to meet up with Elvie’s parents, as well as the natural wonders and survival skills that she records in her journal.

In our time, monarch numbers are dropping dramatically, so planting native milkweed along their migration route can make up for some habitat loss.

Do monarchs migrate through your region?
**kmm

Book info: Little Monarchs / Jonathan Case. Margaret Ferguson Books / Holiday House, 2022. [author site] [book site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Ignoring WOUNDED LITTLE GODS doesn’t mean they’re gone, by Eliza Victoria (book review)

Jun7
book cover of Wounded Little Gods, by Eliza Victoria. Published in USA by Tuttle Publishing | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Gods of wind, of death,
spirits of dew and seedlings and soil –
unheeded, unneeded by modern life…

Regina was so glad to escape her hometown in the Philippine countryside, even if her first job out of college isn’t world-changing.

Hanging out in new co-worker Diane’s apartment, waiting for rush hour to subside, Regina notices many books on eugenics and terrible experiments on human beings – what a strange conversation they lead to!

Diane never returns to work, and Regina finds a hand-drawn map in her bag – a map of her hometown in detail, with notes in Diane’s writing, showing buildings that aren’t there and a big X and two persons’ names.

Regina makes a quick trip back to Heridos to ask her parents about it – they say a doctor at the hospital has a similar name, and aren’t there just trees on that part of Ka Edgar’s old farm? A phone call to her much older brother Luciano isn’t any help either. Hmmmm….

Trekking through the summer humidity to the abandoned farm, Regina finds hidden buildings (Center for Heredity and Genetics!?) – and a woman who says that Diane is late in returning. No, Florina can’t leave her little house to help Regina look for her…

Well, the young doctor says he doesn’t know anything about that Center, but a lady in the waiting room sees that map and exclaims that she was detained there as a child! Clara retells nightmarish stories of small bodies under white sheets, but now there are only woods where Regina found the Center recently….

As Luciano hurriedly drives to Heridos, two gods appear in his car, asking about his sister and offering their help – oh, he remembers how that went the last time…

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” said American writer William Faulkner – how very, very true for everyone connected to that Center for Heredity and Genetics!

With its storyline based on too-real human experimentation centers, this Finalist for the National Book Awards in the Philippines is available for the first time in the US now.

Where do you see the older ways amid the busyness of today?
**kmm

Book info: Wounded Little Gods / Eliza Victoria. Tuttle Publishing, 2022 (US), 2015 (Philippines). [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.