Tag Archive | non-US artist

Oh, wow! EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT DINOSAURS IS WRONG! by Nick Crumpton and Gavin Scott (MG nonfiction)

May9
Book cover of Everything You Know About Dinosaurs Is Wrong! by Dr. Nick Crumpton and Gavin Scott. Many dinosaurs large and small perch upon, walk through, look at, and fly across the bold capital letters of the title.

Roaring, green, scaly, gigantic – our mental images of dinosaurs are NOT RIGHT!

So much has been discovered in the past decade that we need to correct our old dino info.

Among the many WRONG facts that “everyone knows” about dinosaurs that need updating are

– Dinosaurs weren’t very smart (incorrect)
– Long-necked dinosaurs all looked the same (no)
– Tyrannosaurus could outrun you (also no)
– Raptors slashed their prey (nope)

Dinosaur-hunting expeditions now go beyond the usual deserts to Antarctica, sea cliffs, and deep inside mines.

Recent discoveries include dinosaurs that lived in trees or underground, those that cared for nests full of eggs, and sharp-toothed ones that ate both meat and plants.

Using new equipment and techniques to examine fossils discovered long ago, paleontologists can now tell us that some dinosaurs had feathers or fur, that they weren’t cold-blooded, and that some specimens need to be renamed because they are actually young or teen specimens of an already-named dino!

My favorite new fact: that brontosaurus and apatosaurus were indeed two different dinos, not two different names for the same one.

Lots of new names and great information for dino-lovers to learn in this oversized well-illustrated book, also available in paperback July 2025.

What’s your favorite dino?
**kmm

Book info: Everything You Know About Dinosaurs Is Wrong! (Everything You Know series) / Dr. Nick Crumpton; illustrated by Gavin Scott. Nosy Crow US, 2023. [author site https://www.nickcrumpton.com/] [artist site https://www.gavin-scott.co.uk/] [publisher site https://nosycrow.us/product/everything-you-know-about-dinosaurs-is-wrong/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

Look up high with A CAT’S GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY! by Stuart Atkinson & Brendan Kearney (nonfiction picturebook)

May8
Book cover of A Cat's Guide to the Night Sky, by Stuart Atkinson, illustrated by Brendan Kearney. A brown-striped tabby cat sits at lower right, her large eye gazing at constellations Canis Major the Great Dog, Taurus the Bull, Cygnus the Swan, Lyra the Lyre, Gemini the Twins, Canis Minor the Little Dog, Auriga the Charioteer, Crater the Cup, Aquila the Eagle, and Sagittarius the Archer encircling the title clockwise, with the Milky Way spanning the starry sky behind them.

Dark night, twinkling stars,
bright planets,
the Milky Way!

Felicity the cat is here to help you see the wonders of the night sky and know what you’re looking at.

You’ll learn important skywatching words like constellation and asterism. Did you know that the Big Dipper is an asterism within the constellation of Ursa Major: the Great Bear?

Different constellations are visible each season as the Earth moves around our star, the Sun. Felicity tells us the Greek story behind each constellation’s name and where you should look for it in the night sky.

Sagittarius the Archer is also called the Teapot, and Ophiucus means Serpent-Bearer in ancient Greek – but Felicity says “I don’t know anyone who sees a man holding a snake. It’s more like a child’s drawing of a house.” (pg. 27)

Along with the stars in the sky, you might see planets, shooting stars (meteor showers), the Northern Lights, satellites and the International Space Station, or even galaxies if you use binoculars or a telescope.

Felicity’s good advice for safe night viewing includes what to wear and bring, where to go to star-gaze, and who to go with, as well as a good glossary and index.

What’s your favorite thing to see in the night sky?
**kmm

Book info: A Cat’s Guide to the Night Sky / Stuart Atkinson; illustrated by Brendan Kearney. Laurence King Books US, 2018. [author site https://stuartatkinson.wordpress.com/writing/] [artist site https://www.brendandraws.com/] [publisher site https://us.laurenceking.com/products/a-cats-guide-to-the-night-sky] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Where does your PENCIL come from? by Hye-Eun Kim (picturebook)

May7
book cover of Pencil, by Hye-Eun Kim. Shows a large pencil sketching a many-colored forest, tree by tree.

A few leaves, many leaves, a whole tree!
Small trees, more trees, a whole forest!
Many animals, many birds…and a noisy machine…

This wordless picturebook traces the journey of a single pencil from sapling to forest tree to sawed log to factory to art supply store.

A young girl chooses that pencil, then draws marvelous trees extending from the tree stumps, a forest that the displaced animals want to visit!

Drawn in colored pencil and marker, first published in the illustrator’s native Korea and dedicated to her daughter: “May your small tree grow into a large forest.”

Includes helpful advice on how to read a silent book to others.

It’s Children’s Book Week! When you look for this charming book at your local library (https://search.worldcat.org/libraries) or independent bookstore (https://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder), check out the many art styles of today’s picturebooks.

If you chose just one colored pencil, what color would it be?
**kmm

Book info: Pencil / illustrated by Hye-Eun Kim. Toon Books, 2025. [publisher site https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763419/pencil-by-hye-eun-kim/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

Such a good dog! BOO LOVES BOOKS, by Kaye Baillie and Tracie Grimwood (Picturebook)

May6
Book cover of Boo Loves Books, by Kaye Baillie, illustrated by Tracie Grimwood. Below title of "B o pawprint L o Heart e s Books" are a large tan and black medium-furred long-nosed dog and a small round-faced red-haired girl with 2 short side-ponytails and a plaid school uniform dress. They are lying on their tummies on the floor, looking at a picturebook together and smiling. More picturebooks are stacked nearby.

Everyone in her class loves to read, except Phoebe.

She doesn’t know all the letter sounds and doesn’t like being wrong, so she just keeps quiet.

What’s that? Miss Spinelli’s class will go someplace away from school – to read?!

Phoebe worries at home and on the bus and at the animal shelter. She doesn’t know much about dogs – how can she read to one?

Very, very shy Big Boo is scared of Phoebe? Miss Spinelli stays with them: “Your voice is all he needs.”

Big Boo doesn’t care when Phoebe gets stuck on a word, so they keep reading together!

A lovely story about the power of reading and being accepted, this 2020 release by an Australian author and illustrator duo is well worth finding, especially now during Children’s Book Week https://everychildareader.net/cbw/.

Is there a reading to shelter animals program near you?
**kmm

Book info: Boo Loves Books / Kaye Baillie, art by Tracie Grimwood. New Frontier Publishing, 2020. Distributed in USA by Lerner Books. [author site https://kayebaillie.com/] [illustrator site https://traciegrimwood.com.au/] [publisher site https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/20570] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Get to know CHARLES M. SCHULZ, creator of Snoopy and Peanuts, in a manga biography! by Yuzuri Kukui (Graphic novel nonfiction)

May5
Book cover of Charles M. Schulz: The Creator of Snoopy and Peanuts, by Yuzuri Kukui. Manga Biographies series. Centered above title is a manga image of young Charles Schulz sketching a cartoon as his characters Lucy, Linus, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock dance on pages flying off his desk.

Snoopy!
Charlie Brown!
Linus! Lucy! Woodstock!

We all recognize the characters of Peanuts, drawn by Charles Schulz, but how much do you know about the cartoonist’s life story?

A doodler from childhood, “Sparky” improved his techniques with a drawing course by mail during high school, delighting family and friends with his cartoons.

Returning to St. Paul after army service during World War II, Schulz worked at multiple jobs trying to get into the cartooning business.

Finally, a New York newspaper syndicate accepts his comic strip about little kids and a dog! Its original name was like another published comic, so the editors change it to “Peanuts.” Sparky hates the name, but is ecstatic that his work whose characters are named after his coworkers will be seen in newspapers across the US!

He rushes home to propose to lovely red-headed Donna – who says she’s decided to marry someone else… so Sparky threw himself into producing a daily comic strip.

Peanuts’ popularity grew as it appeared in more and more newspapers, then the Sunday color comic pages, then books. At age 32, Schulz won top cartoonist of the year!

His family grew, too, so he and Joyce and their five children moved to the warmer climate of southern California.

In 1960, Linus began the Legend of the Great Pumpkin, followed by Charlie Brown’s unrequited love for “the little red-headed girl” whom we never see, then “A Charlie Brown Christmas” animated television special.

Go with Snoopy to the moon, learn about Sparky’s family, and enjoy his enduring comic characters in this loving tribute, originally published in Japan with editorial supervision by Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates.

Who is your favorite Peanuts character?
**kmm

Book info: Charles M. Schulz: the creator of Snoopy and Peanuts (Manga Biographies series) / by Yuzuri Kukui; translated by Mari Marimoto. Udon Entertainment, 2024. [publisher site https://store.udonentertainment.com/collections/manga/products/manga-biographies-charles-m-schulz-the-creator-of-snoopy-and-peanuts] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Z is New Zealand DAWN RAID targeting of immigrant homes – time to protest! by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith & Mat Hunkin (MG fiction) #AtoZ

Apr30
Book cover of Dawn Raid, by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith, art by Mat Hunkin. Shows a dark-skinned young teen girl with long hair, hugging a book and wearing a dress and sandals. She is a bright image, walking with many monochrome-tinted native Maori and Pasifika immigrant people carrying signs and using a megaphone in New Zealand protest.

The right to free speech,
the right to education and work,
for everyone, right?

As the only girl squished in among so many rambunctious brothers, Sofia feels overlooked at home. Even her 13th birthday celebration in 1976 gets postponed when the boys get silly with darts and have to go to emergency room!

She gets too much attention in their small town school – for being Samoan, for reading her speech at assembly, for supporting the march by Maori people protesting theft of their traditional lands.

The New Zealand economy has turned bad, so the government says people with dark skin are the problem, making native Maori and immigrant Pacific Islanders alike easy targets for police harassment.

Sofia is now old enough to get a milk delivery job like her big brother. Despite all the heavy glass bottles and hearing complaints about price increases, she can save up for those groovy tall white boots she sees on TV!

Yay! Her grandparents are coming from Samoa to visit, so the whole family will take time off from school and work to go meet them in Auckland.

Oh, no… Polynesian Panthers are being jailed, just because they protest news silence about the government’s dawn raids of homes where an Islander might have overstayed their work or visitor visa!

Hmmm… Sofia has to write a new speech for the area competition about something she knows a lot about… like Islander people being the only group of overstayers being arrested.

Through Sofia’s diary entries and sketches, the 1976 Maori and Islander protests come alive, echoing the American Civil Rights movement that she learns about in school, as well as the current ICE raids in the US.

Reading what folks in other places and situations have written is a great way to know more about them – originally published by Scholastic New Zealand, brought to North America by Levine Querido, with discussion guide here: https://www.levinequerido.com/dawn-raid.

How do you support family members in difficult times?
**kmm

Book info: Dawn Raid / Pauline Vaeluaga Smith; illustrated by Mat Hunkin. Lantern/ Levine Querido, 2023. [author interview https://www.thesapling.co.nz/2018-04-17-author-interview-pauline-vaeluaga-smith/] [illustrator site https://www.mathunkin.com/illustration] [publisher site https://www.levinequerido.com/dawn-raid] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Y is a year’s worth of funny poems: A WHALE OF A TIME, selected by Lou Peacock, art by Matt Hunt (Poetry picturebook) #AtoZ

Apr29
Book cover of A Whale of a Time: a Funny Poem For Each Day of the Year, selected by Lou Peacock, illustrated by Matt Hunt. Shows a large smiling blue whale swimming in sea with fish and submarine, spouting many objects up into the air: ghost, dinosaur, piano, robot, horse, rainbow, car, trophy, lion, kite, ladder and more.

Make every day more humorous as you spend a year with funny poems from around the world.

Some are very short:

even among the insects of this world,
some are good at singing,
some bad
by Kobayashi Issa, translated by R.H. Blyth (August 8)

Others are a bit longer, like Jack Prelutsky’s classic “The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven” on November 27th among a cluster of fall food feasting poems.

Every double-page spread features subject-related poems such as June 26-28’s poems “Spinach”, “I Eat My Peas With Honey”, and “Eat Your Veg”, with a vivid illustration connecting them.

And the poem titles themselves invite us to enjoy reading them – “Banananananananana” (August 2) and “Hippopotamouse” (Sept. 30) and “Jamaican Summers” (June 12) and “The Fork Tree” (Oct.7) and “Lunchbox Love Note” (on Feb. 14, of course)

Happy to reread some of my favorites, like “Eletelephony”, by Laura E. Richards (for Feb. 25) which begins
Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant –
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone…

This vibrantly illustrated oversize volume includes an index of poets, an index of poems, and the ever-helpful index of first lines. Find related learning resources on the publisher’s page: https://nosycrow.us/product/a-whale-of-a-time/.

What’s your favorite funny poem?
**kmm

Book info: A Whale of a Time: a Funny Poem For Each Day of the Year / selected by Lou Peacock, illustrated by Matt Hunt. Nosy Crow, 2023. [editor site https://nosycrow.us/contributor/lou-peacock/] [illustrator site https://matthuntillustration.com/] [publisher site https://nosycrow.us/product/a-whale-of-a-time/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher, via Publisher Spotlight.

X is unknown: KEPLER26: THE INVITATION to abandoned brothers – to a safe place? by Parvela, Sortland, Pitkanen, and Witesman (MG Fiction) #AtoZ

Apr28
Book cover of Kepler62: The Invitation, by/ Timo Parvela & Bjorn Sortland; art by Pasi Pitkanen; translated by Owen Witesman. Shows a short Black boy and a taller white tween boy with sticking-up hair, half-brothers who hold hands as they walk into a dark hangar. Through the open hangar doors emblazoned with a fierce bird, is a large passenger jet plane taking off into a vivid red and orange sky.

Too many people, too much pollution,
not enough work or food,
a computer game offers escape and a secret…

With Mom always gone, 13-year-old Ari shoplifts to feed little half-brother Joni. The hoopla about the upcoming space expedition to find another habitable planet doesn’t fill an empty stomach.

“A lady” gives Joni the video game that everyone is talking about: Kepler62, rumored to have a secret ending if you master all the levels.

Two days, two nights – the game starts with easy quests, then gets much harder. Online gamer forums say no one has solved level 99 yet.

As they try yet again, Joni insists that Ari choose an unconventional weapon, and onward they go in the dark tunnel… success!

Then things the boys have never ever seen appear on-screen – mountains and trees and a meadow where a tall pale boy runs with a kite as a young dark boy follows… is that them?

Joni wakes up with a fever, so they go to the health center where a very young girl with implanted medical knowledge prescribes a medication that triggers alarms when they accept it. The lady who gave Joni the game helps them escape, but the men in grey suits are fast!

Why did the government just now discover the boys’ mother hasn’t been home in a while?
Oh, those men’s eyes have that glint like the girl doctor – have their brains been altered, too?
Joni is sure there’s something else in the game – can the brothers find it?

This first book in the Kepler62 illustrated novel series (https://www.simonandschuster.com/series/Kepler62) was simultaneously released in Finnish and Norwegian, then translated into English.

What’s your favorite reality-escape video game?
**kmm

Book info: Kepler62: The Invitation / Timo Parvela & Bjorn Sortland; art by Pasi Pitkanen; translated by Owen Witesman. Arctis Books, 2023. [Timo’s site https://www.timoparvela.fi/en] [Bjorn’s site https://bjornsortland.no/boker.html] [Pasi’s site https://www.instagram.com/pp_pitkanen/] [Owen’s site https://www.suomitranslation.com/about/] [publisher site https://www.arctis-books.com/books/the-invitation] 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.

O is THE OBSERVOLOGIST on very small scientific expeditions, by Giselle Clarkson (kids’ nonfiction) #AtoZ

Apr17
Book cover of The Observologist: a Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions, by Giselle Clarkson. Shows a small red-striped caterpillar hanging from title words with speech bubble containing subtitle, above a very large, detailed drawing of a green-fly with long legs.

Observology?
It’s the study of looking,
looking very closely at what’s around you.

As an observologist who enjoys looking and learning, you can discover interesting creatures and objects anywhere and everywhere!

First, learn some basic observology principles – be curious, patient, don’t touch unfamiliar things – and gather your equipment – magnifying glass, small mirror, camera, flashlight, sketchbook.

Then you can mount an observological expedition to places like:

– a damp corner of ground, where you may spot fungi, snails, and things that hide in plain sight.

– on the pavement, prime location for ants, lichen, and birdwatching without birds.

– in a weedy patch, where you might spy wasps, caterpillars, and various types of seeds and leaves.

– indoors, peeking behind the curtains to see and hear what insects may be there and learning the difference between moths and butterflies.

Filled with detailed sketches and information, this intriguing book from New Zealand publisher Gecko Press for observologists of all ages also includes useful skills like how to get a fly to go outdoors, how to help an exhausted bee, and how to save a worm that’s in danger of getting stomped on.

When you look down at the ground outside, what’s the smallest thing that you can observe?
**kmm

Book info: The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions / Giselle Clarkson. Gecko Press, 2024. [author site https://www.giselledraws.com/portfolio/] [publisher site https://geckopress.com/bookshop/the-observologist/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via Publisher Spotlight.