Tag Archive | belonging

R is RAISED BY GHOSTS, she drifts through school and life, by Briana Loewinsohn (YA Graphic Novel) #AtoZ

Apr21
Book cover of Raised by Ghosts, graphic novel by Briana Loewinsohn. Shows girl with long brown hair seated at a desk, looking down at her sketches which rise into the air as white outlines of images on a dark stream.

Pencil and paper,
imagination and image,
better than reality…

In middle school, the other kids “seem to understand how to be in the world in a way that I do not,” notes Briana (pg. 5) during the mid 1990s.

Mum absolutely unpredictable, Dad completely predictable, distant from one another in the same house, distant from only child Briana, too… as they skirt the edges of being poor, is anyone the parent here?

At her Berkeley high school, Briana has a hard time concentrating in classes… is there a point?

Notes to friends, sketching on homework pages, notes from friends, making mixtapes instead of doing homework, repeat, repeat, repeat.

She literally draws herself into a dark place of loneliness, then draws herself back out into the real world again.

This graphic novel memoir chronicles the artist’s school years in muted tones, often sadly somber, yet ending with hope as she continues to draw: “Dear paper, dear pencil, you are saving my life…” (pg. 200). She shares three ways to fold a note and her favorite mixtape playlist, too.

What notes and messages from friends would you save forever?
**kmm

Book info: Raised by Ghosts / Briana Loewinsohn. Fantagraphics, 2025. [author site https://www.instagram.com/brianabreaks/] [publisher site https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/raised-by-ghosts] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Q is for questing with the SHEPHERDESS WARRIORS to protect her village! by Jonathan Garnier & Amelie Flechais (Graphic Novel) #AtoZ

Apr19
Book cover of graphic novel Shepherdess Warriors, volume 1, by Jonathan Garnier and Amelie Flechais. Amid a desolate gray wilderness, two very young warriors sit astride their mounts who rear up on their back legs - on the left, a boy rides a gigantic shaggy dog, on the right, a red-haired girl rides a large short-horned black ram. The youths hold aloft long lances with banners that cross at center.

Ten years with no news,
their men far away at war,
the women must keep their village safe!

Molly can’t wait! Now she’s finally old enough to start training with the Order of Shepherdess Warriors, to join her mother and grandmother in defending their village and their flocks. Only the oldest men and preteen boys didn’t go to war, so women began the Order to protect everyone.

Astride her ram, Black Beard, the ten year old and her friends learn archery, blade fighting, history, and how to stay awake on night watches.

Liam longs to be a defender, too. Even though the Order is closed to men, he and his gigantic dog tag along on training missions, aided by best friend Molly, of course.

Near the edges of the Deadlands, the apprentices encounter friendly-enough witches, bumbling bandits, and a dread unknown creature!

Can they prevent the evil creature from attacking the village?
Who is the girl wandering alone in this wilderness?
Will the being called ‘Great Botanist’ help the Order in their quest?

Volume one (issues 1 and 2) of the graphic novel series, which originated in France after artist Amelie created a squad of goat-riding warrior women for a cavalry-themed art challenge. Look for Volume 2, too!

What historic defensive skill would you like to learn?
**kmm

Book info: Shepherdess Warriors, vol. 1 / Jonathan Garnier; art by Amelie Flechais; translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger; lettering by Vibrant Studios. Ablaze Publishing, 2024. [artist site https://www.amelieflechais.com/] [publisher site https://ablaze.net/products?p=G9781684971695] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

P is GREEN PROMISES: Girls Who Loved the Earth, by Jeannine Atkins (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr18
Book cover of Green Promises: Girls Who Loved the Earth, by Jeannine Atkins. Shows 2 women in old-fashioned dresses and hats, one sitting on riverbank and sketching its tall grasses, one wading in the river and examining rocks she has picked up there.

Grasses swaying in the breeze,
different rocks in the river,
what stories do they tell about time and change?

Now packed into Grandmother’s small Chicago flat with her siblings and widowed mother, Agnes misses green meadows, learns to draw sidewalk flowers on old envelopes, wishes for school past 8th grade.

School soon for Marguerite, exploring the river’s edge with its intriguing rocks, across from Washington DC where her father and other Black men labor. Her parents never learned to read, yet she dreams of going to high school.

Agnes becomes a talented botanical artist, is asked to travel and survey grasses of the west at her own expense (because she’s a woman), at last working in the Smithsonian.

Marguerite longs to become a teacher, to make a difference in her world, to envision what factors increase flood risks in the nation’s capital.

Women march for the right to vote in 1913! Agnes jailed with other white women protestors, Marguerite and other Black women shunted to the end of the parade.

Will Agnes’s decades of work to find and catalogue the grasses of the world be recognized?
Can Marguerite find a university where she can earn degrees in geology?
How many women will they both inspire to learn and discover and succeed?

This evocative novel-in-verse brings us the lives and work of women who persevered in natural sciences when society’s expectations tried to limit them.

By the author of Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner’s Call to Science (recommended at https://booksyalove.com/?p=12527) and Stone Mirrors: the Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis (here https://booksyalove.com/?p=8212).

What’s your favorite museum of natural history?
**kmm

Book info: Green Promises: Girls Who Loved the Earth / Jeannine Atkins. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author site https://www.jeannineatkins.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Green-Promises/Jeannine-Atkins/Girls-Who-Love-Science/9781665950572] Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.

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.

In TENMILE mining town, what future does she have? by Sandra Dallas (MG book review)

May9
Back of young girl with long hair, looking at old western town at base of mountains - book cover of Tenmile, by Sandra Dallas

Beautiful mountains above,
gold in the ground below,
the many toiling to benefit a few..

Some have enough, most have little, a few have so much – life in their Colorado gold mining town isn’t fair, her widowed doctor father tells 13-year-old Sissy.

“She’d asked him once why he hadn’t moved to Denver, where there were beautiful houses and grass and leafy trees. ‘Because people in Tenmile need me,’ he’d replied.” (p.85)

When their fathers are injured in the mines, some of her friends must drop out of school to support their families, working as maids, clothes washers, even down in the mines as young teens…

Willie Gilpin’s big brother died of scarlet fever, so his worried mother keeps him home from school. The rich mine owner’s son has gotten spoiled and mean; 13-year-old Sissy will tutor him, but not put up with his bad behavior.

Oh, no! Another mine accident! Sissy runs to help.
Doc has taught her many treatments and remedies; she helps him setting broken bones and delivering babies – but no one thinks a girl can be a doctor in 1880!

Look for this 2022 release in hardcover, paperback, or eBook at your local library or independent bookstore (not affiliate links).

What dream job are you aiming for, despite what others say?
**kmm

Book info: Tenmile / Sandra Dallas. Sleeping Bear Press, hardcover 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

X for excitement – THE WOLVES OF GREYCOAT HALL have arrived! by Lucinda Gifford. (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr27
Tartan-clad wolf mom, wolf dad & wolf cub who holds large book on cover of The Wolves of Greycoat Hall, by Lucinda Gifford.

Where to go on vacation?

Aha! Once his father reads “Wolves to be reintroduced to Scotland” in the newspaper, Boris knows that’s where his wolf family will go!

The young cub reads about the Greycoats’ Scottish heritage on their interesting train and ferry journey to Portlessie, near the long-lost McLupus castle, Wolfemina Hall.

Folks stare at first, then welcome the Greycoats – except for dreadful Mr. Vorslad who wants to tear down Drommuir Castle to build a luxury resort (no one in town but the real estate agent wants that).

Such a lovely place and what wonderful food! If only they could outbid Mr. Vorslad and buy Drommuir as a vacation home in the Highlands, as a tribute to Wolfemina Hall…

Meeting historic battle re-enactors with swords – exciting!
Sketching birds at the beach and making sandcastles with new friends – very good.
Vorslad starting to destroy the beach and forest before the property sale is final – terrible!!

Can one young wolf save the castle and forest and beach, before it’s too late?

The author’s clever sketches add greatly to readers’ enjoyment – Mr. and Mrs. Greycoat in kilts, Boris sketching as they sightsee, paintings of their McLupus ancestors, and pages from A Guide to Morovia, their current wolfly homeland.

Followed by Boris in Switzerland at boarding school with snowboarding and a grand mystery. Find both books today, Independent Bookstore Day, and every day through the finder site for a store near you or online at bookshop.org.

What do you know of wolves that live in your region?
**kmm

Book info: The Wolves of Greycoat Hall (Wolves of Greycoat Hall, book 1) / Lucinda Gifford. Kane Miller/EDC, 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.