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Reviews 2021

November 19, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown

Waka T. Brown fills her latest book with all the pathos, yearning, frustrations, and humor you might find in a middle grade novel. The important difference? It’s all true. It’s all real. It’s all enthralling.

November 11, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Little Witch Hazel, A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl

A throwback. A sign of picture books to come. In the end, it’s just one of the best books of the year. Here’s hoping there’s more Little Witch Hazel in our future.

November 4, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day – Rosie the Riveter: The Legacy of an American Icon by Sarah Dvojack

How do you write a bio of someone who was never actually alive? An impressive bio of a symbol that retains her importance even today.

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More Recent Posts

Review of the Day: Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters selected by Dan Sasuweh Jones (Ponca Nation), ill. Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva Nation)

October 21, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Got a fear of living dolls, skin-sucking babies, or otters? Don’t worry. You will now.

Review of the Day: Fred Gets Dressed by Peter Brown

October 17, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Today we look at a book about choice. Children’s choices and the choices adults make when faced with their own kids’ curiosity about their bodies and the clothing that goes onto it. I review Fred Gets Dressed by Peter Brown.

Review of the Day: Chunky by Yehudi Mercado

October 8, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Chunky doesn’t really look or act like any of the other comics out there today. It’s good-natured, peppy, dealing with some serious issues but with a light hand.

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Review of the Day: Much Ado About Baseball by Rajani LaRocca

October 1, 2021 by Betsy Bird

It is truly rare to find a book like Much Ado About Baseball where math not only propels the plot forward, but also contains perfectly normal, sportsy characters for whom loving math is just one aspect of their personality. Add in baseball, Shakespeare, magic AND snacks and you’ve got yourself a unicorn of a book.

Review of the Day: Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler, ill. Loren Long

September 23, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long have given us a title that is filled up to the brim with dignity. Dignity for the people who actually put their blood, sweat, and tears into making the places and objects we so desperately need to live.

Review of the Day: Race Against Time by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace

September 17, 2021 by Betsy Bird

A thoroughly rousing story, deserving of wider acclaim. The package may be lacking but the contents are gold.

Review of the Day: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, ill. Sophie Blackall

September 10, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Pairing with the utterly lovely Sophie Blackall, Kate DiCamillo presents us with a story that has all the trappings of a fable, and all the reality of a thoroughly thrilling tale.

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