December 2024 Prime Picks

Reviewer's Choice

Homeschooling Quick Start
Susanne Gibbs
Carus Books
9781637700532 $24.95
www.carusbooks.com

Homeschooling Quick Start: What You Need to Know should be the first book consulted by any parent considering homeschooling as a viable alternative to traditional education options.

It helps parents consider such issues as their teaching philosophy and objectives, understanding the order in which science and other subjects are taught, handling foreign languages and enrichment studies, and more.

Each of these topics is intrinsic to both a well-rounded education and building an attractive atmosphere for parent/teacher and child/student, offering concrete tips and tools for success that encourage parents to take the leap into home education. These approaches make Homeschooling Quick Start a highly recommended ‘must’ for novices looking to enter into and quickly get up and running with the homeschooling option.

Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay
Nancy Slonim Aronie
New World Library
9781608689309 $18.95
www.newworldlibrary.com

Aspiring writers committed to telling their stories via the personal essay form receive important guidelines to making the most of this format in Nancy Slonim Aronie’s Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay.

Her guide uses examples from her own work and those of others to review quality and diverse approaches to creating a personal essay that will easily resonate with writers.

Some of these include basic writing guidelines, from how to create a ‘can’t-put-it-down’ hook from the start to employing structure and themes in a manner that elevates the personal essay’s production and format. Readers interested in developing top-notch writing skills in this genre should place Seven Secrets to the Perfect Personal Essay at the top of their reading lists.

Soul Kitchen
Wagamama
Kyle Books
9781804191453 $22.00
www.octopusbooksusa.com

Soul Kitchen: The Art of Cooking and Eating in 70 Recipes travels Asia, profiling cooks from all kinds of establishments who are serving up local color and ‘soul’ to their communities.

Americans who associate ‘soul food’ with Black traditions in the U.S. may be surprised at the different usage here, but the cookbook’s ability to represent and embrace diversity through dishes from restaurants, street food stalls, canteens, and more offers an inviting array of recipes and appealing color photos not to be found elsewhere, from a Gochujang Chicken Rice Bowl to Fridge-Raid Fishcakes with a tangy Asian-inspired Tartare.

The colorful coverage makes for a winning collection!

Storytelling for Genealogists
Doug Tattershall
Genealogical Publishing
9780806321417 $18.95
www.genealogical.com

Storytelling for Genealogists: Turning Family Lineage into Family History gives answers on how a genealogist can employ basic techniques to uncover and understand not just family trees, but the stories behind them.

This short book (less than a hundred pages) shows how to begin with a good story, reinforcing it with research-supported facts gleaned from oral and written history, personal diaries, newspaper articles, and more.

The author uses his own journalism experience, in addition to profiling five fellow genealogists, to explore how family storytellers can employ the latest digital tools to bring family history, mysteries, and discoveries to life. No genealogy collection should be without Storytelling for Genealogists. General-interest libraries will find it particularly enlightening and lively.

Young Adult/Children

Cuento de Luz
www.cuentodeluz.com

These new picture book arrivals from Cuento de Luz are top-notch attractions for read-aloud adults or kids seeking inviting stories.

Ana Eulate’s The Bird Whisperer (9788418302800, $18.95) is one example of an appealing tale. It pairs colorful, inviting illustrations by Mar Azabal with the unusual observation of a bicyclist who “…was radiant, and her clothes were the color of a robin’s feathers.”

The bird’s-eye view of this young woman’s life with Max, her curious cat, and the little nest she’s built in the City of Light makes for a poetic, evocative inspection delivered in an especially delightful, creative tone that picture book readers usually don’t receive:

The world kept turning, and she was a little island.

David Gómez’s Sophia’s Flight (9788419464316, $18.95) features lovely illustrations by Carolina Luzón as it explores the life of a curious little dragonfly that hates surprises and asks questions so she can control everything in her life.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. It takes a wise mother and pointed experiences to reinforce this idea, which will especially attract read-aloud parents opening dialogue with the very young about predicting and controlling events:

Sophia needed to know at all times what they were going to do. She got really nervous when she didn’t know what to expect, or if their plans suddenly changed.

Carolina Luzón’s large size, intensely colorful illustrations are of particular note. They’re a perfect accompaniment to the story.

Azahara Castillo’s My Guardian (9788419464743, $19.95), illustrated by Maite García Lliso, tells of insecurities, fears, and dread that arrive in the form of a large black monster that enters a young girl’s life.

Nobody else can see this monster, which leads her pleas for help to fall on deaf ears. Castillo’s evocative exploration of emotional turmoil is especially powerfully rendered:

It was like carrying a backpack that gradually filled with rocks until it weighted so much I couldn’t go any further.

Anger, fear, courage, and the finer art of listening all come into play in a manner that read-aloud adults will find delightful for exploring emotions with the very young.

Javier Sobrino’s The Footprint (9788419464026, $18.95) is illustrated by Carolina Luzón, whose beautiful, artistic illustrative force graced other Cuento De Luz titles. Here, her gorgeous, colorful animal drawings attract attention to the story of differences, fear, loneliness, companionship among disparate individuals, and more.

Parents will find it easy to garner young picture book reader attention with these bright and zesty illustrations which emphasize emotional insights Javier Sobrino covers, in The Footprint, a story of cats, creatures, and connection.

Azahara Castillo’s Another Chance (9788419464781, $19.95) also excels in the vivid combination of Carolina Luzón’s animal illustrations and Castillos’ survey of two little foxes that face a cougar’s dangerous lure away from safety and their mother’s cautionary teachings.

A host of animals interact as tension builds and the curious cubs explore beyond boundaries and make new discoveries.

Susana Rosique’s Agreement Under the Stars (9788419464928, $19.95) depicts a large, peaceful forest whose animals “live together in peace and harmony.”

As the outside world begins to intrude, however, the world gets smaller, and problems emerge.

Adults who choose Agreement Under the Stars for read-aloud will find plenty of opportunity to engage the very young in lofty issues of community, strife, problem-solving, the need for space, and more.

The many lessons and discussion topics as the animals face change make for welcome and varied dialogue opportunities.

Margarita Del Mazo’s Dad (9788419464279, $18.95) receives warm illustrations by Silvia Alvarez as it presents lovely, colorful, large-size drawings to accompany the first-person story of a father’s love for his child.

From before the baby appeared to growing up, the perspective alternates between father and child with engaging interactive observations that will warm the hearts of all kinds of readers and listeners:

Yours will be the hand that helps me learn to walk, the voice that explains the world to me, and the arms that hold me when I’m scared.

All are outstanding picture books that stand out from the crowd, suitable for read-aloud and elementary-level library acquisition, deserving of high recommendation for their written and visual strengths.

The Dogs Next Door
Patricia Carlin
Marble Press
9781958325230 $19.99
www.marblepress.com

Picture book readers attracted to pooches will find The Dogs Next Door the perfect read for kids enamored by canines. It covers the dilemmas created by naughty dogs that invite themselves over to breakfast with the girl next door, scarfing down all the bacon and generally being loveable nuisances.

The antics of the mischievous mutts are reviewed by a girl who learns they may actually be criminal banjo-stealing thieves after she welcomes them to the neighborhood.

A fun, zany story of problematic friendships evolves in a story that read-aloud adults will find particularly engaging and unexpected.

Evolution: A Celebration of Beautiful Animals
William Spring
Candlewick Press
9781536238558 $22.99
www.candlewickpress.com

Evolution: A Celebration of Beautiful Animals gives picture book to middle grade readers a lovely assembly of unique animals around the world. William Spring discusses their natural history, evolutionary process, and amazing appearances, pairing good-sized color drawings with inviting headlines.

One example that will attract young readers is the Ibis:

Due to its elegant and regal appearance, it’s no surprise that in ancient Egypt the sacred ibis was worshipped.

The result is a gorgeous, inviting presentation.

The Giant and the Grizzly Bear
Rosemarie Avrana Meyok
Inhabit Media
9781772275193 $17.95
www.inhabitmedia.com

The Giant and the Grizzly Bear is illustrated by Thamires Paredes, who creates inviting, colorful drawings to enhance the story of a frightened, abandoned child who is rescued by a giant, raised as his own, and taught to beware of bears.

The child grows up thinking that someday he’ll be a great hunter, but imagines all kinds of dangerous bears during the process of watching for them.

An adoptive father’s strength and a child’s lessons on bears and how landscapes are reshaped by conflict impart lessons to young readers which will be enhanced by adult read-aloud and discussions. The colorful story delivers deeper insights to kids alongside its entertainment value, making The Giant and the Grizzly Bear a top recommendation for libraries seeking novel adventures that come with important messages.

Ho Ho Ho! A Pirate’s Christmas for Me
Red
Sweet Cherry
9781802634730 $18.95
www.sweetcherrypublishing.com

Ho Ho Ho! A Pirate’s Christmas for Me is written by Red, sports lovely illustrations by Jack Button, and adds an unexpected pirate twist to the story of Santa.

In this inviting fantasy, Nic and Kris Beard are very different twins who choose disparate paths in life.

One is naughty; one is nice.

Can they ever get together?

Red’s delightful tale embraces adventure, contrasts sibling differences, and documents the process of accepting divergence and helping others in a delightfully original story that read-aloud parents will find appealing for young listeners.

A rhyming text and unexpected encounters, both geographically and emotionally, makes for a picture book tale that is exceptional.

Tilbury House Publishers
www.tilburyhouse.com

These new arrivals from Tilbury House invite picture book readers and libraries to delve into novel stories with winning themes that add value and longevity to lending collections and young readers.

Shani Mahiri King’s Finding Rebecca: The Forgotten Life of Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, America’s First Black Female Doctor (9781958394083, $19.99) provides a 64-page elementary-level biography that juxtaposes compelling illustrations by Nicole Tadgell with an investigative tone.

Young readers are encouraged to think about why this vivid personality’s life has been largely passed over in history—it took well over a hundred years to even locate Crumpler’s burial place and do it proper justice with a gravestone.

The biography will prove appealing and insightful, encouraging young readers to not just learn about Crumpler’s life and contributions, but the forces that repress, alter, or change history over time.

Kathleen E. Madden’s Who Knew? The Wonders of Biomimicry (9780884489931, $18.99) is a delightful primer on biomimicry. Madden defines the term, offers many examples ranging from cats to birds, and draws important connections between biomimicry and how human understanding has led to amazing discoveries that translate to new inventions and perspectives.

The color photos are simply outstanding, and will attract leisure readers as well as students.

Wai Mei Wong and Kristi Beautyman’s Courage, Every Day (9781668945117, $18.99) pairs winning illustrations with an inquiry defining courage and the various choices that indicate courage is being employed in all kinds of situations.

Adults who choose Courage, Every Day for read-aloud will find the review of emotions, actions, and choices prompts engaging interactions and discussions.

Listen, Wonder, Ask by Elly Berke (9781668945100, $18.99) receives charming, action-depicting drawings by Luciana Navarro Powell as it presents a community-wide chain of experiences and friendships. These place Nadine in the role of being the first to experience her neighbors’ different lives, asking the kinds of questions that lead to better connections and understanding.

Almost poetic descriptions (“…his words were like jewels that bounced and danced through the aisles”) mark a truly compelling tale.

Eve LaPlante and Margy Burns Knight’s Who Needs a Statue? (9780884489511, $18.99) enjoys colorful embellishment by Alix Delinois as it surveys the hundred statues of the U.S. Capitol building, considering how states are represented there.

Questions of how and why these statues were chosen poses an easy question (and answers) to young people who may not have known about or considered Capitol statuary before.

All are excellent, inviting titles that libraries and read-aloud parents will find of top value.