July 2019 Prime Picks
Young Adult / Childrens
Reviewer's Choice
Rage on the Right
Lane Crothers
Rowman &
Littlefield
9781538115831
$32.00
www.rowman.com
The second updated edition of Rage on the Right: the American Militia Movement from Ruby Ridge to the Trump Presidency is updated with descriptions of the latest changes to the right-wing faction in America, and charts the methods and emergence of the alt-right movement from the 1990s to modern times.
Embedded within this social history is a survey of how modern right-wing movements have used economics and social influence to change the course of American politics.
Discussions of underlying values systems and purposes, changing American politics, and the rise of the new militia key in the movement's processes make for thought-provoking discussions especially important for college-level students of political and social science. This audience will find Rage on the Right offers a rare glimpse into social transformation and the methods used to change the course of American politics and popular opinion alike.
A Taste of History Cookbook
Chef Walter Staib with Martha W. Murphy
Grand Central Publishing
9781538746684
$30.00
www.hachettebookgroup.com
A Taste of History Cookbook: The Flavors, Places, and People That Shaped American Cuisine examines 18th and 19th century American culinary history and traditions. It excels in featuring over 150 recipes profiled in the accompany television history, packing color photo examples into its blend of history and recipes.
Stories pair history lessons with these dishes, creating a warm set of introductions to dishes which are steeped in not just regional but international influences.
A Black Forest Mȃche Salad, for example, is a favorite with most Europeans and is a good example of the European influence on early colonial cooking, while a Guyanese Duck Curry dish explores the author's sojourn to Guyana in search of a rare cuisine influenced by Native Americans, the Dutch, and Africans alike.
The result holds many surprises for cooks who tend to more narrowly and rigidly define American regional cuisine and its influences, providing a delightfully diverse compendium of dishes and historical notes. No culinary history collection should be without this intriguing blend of recipes and history.
Young Adult/Childrens
Disney/Hyperion
www.DisneyBooks.com
Two new titles from Disney are top recommendations for libraries looking to attract young picture book readers with refreshingly original stories.
Matthew Farina's Lawrence in the Fall (9781484780589, $16.99) receives fine drawings by Doug Salati as it explores a warm relationship between a fox father and son.
Lawrence and Papa search the forest for something to collect, sharing an adventure that begins with a class assignment. It seems that all the animal children are collectors except for Lawrence.
Good reading skills or a parent's read-aloud assistance will lend to enjoyment of this story of a young fox who has nothing good for show-and-tell until his helpful father steps in to help him see the world in a different light.
Jenn Harney's Underwear! (9781368027939, $12.99) tells of a bare little bear who should be wearing underwear after his bath.
Plays on words ensue as a stern father tries to insist his wayward cub get himself into some undies.
The fun of a father's determination to see his cub properly clad before bedtime is nicely transmitted in a series of dialogues that keep kids engaged in some fun escapades powered by a determined bare bear and an equally stubborn but kindly father. Underwear! is a warm read-aloud choice that fathers and their kids, especially, can enjoy sharing.
Girl of the Southern
Sea
Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press
9781772780819
$17.95
www.pajamapress.com
Girl of the Southern Sea tells of Nia, born in the slums of Indonesia's capital city who, at age fourteen, is excelling at school.
Limited in her opportunities by crushing poverty, she's afraid she'll be forced into helping her family rather than expanding her future. What can she achieve without an education? Marriage. But that's not for her, even if Nia is forced to assume more and more family responsibilities alone.
Girl of the Southern Sea offers many cultural insights and mature themes that will have young adults thinking about the foundations of courage, survival, and efforts to move beyond poverty and a limited future.
It's highly recommended for multicultural collections and adults seeking to foster a better understanding of different societies among teen readers.
The Haunted
Danielle Vega
Razorbill
9780451481467
$17.99
www.penguin.com
The Haunted provides young adult readers with a chilling horror story that tells of a family's move to a tiny town to escape a traumatic event.
Hendricks makes some new friends who warn her about the old house the family has chosen to fix up—a house renowned for being haunted.
As Hendricks meets a mysterious boy and confronts demons who may be emerging from her past trauma, she finds that the house holds more than a ghostly heritage.
An engrossing haunting story emerges, perfect for young adult fans of haunted house and horror pieces, who will relish the added psychological depth of a girl facing danger from both past and present threats.
Here and There
Tamara Ellis Smith
Barefoot Books
9781782857419
www.barefootbooks.com
Here and There is a picture book tale that receives fun drawings by Evelyn Daviddi as it explores the idea that a mother lives separately from a father—and so Ivan has two homes.
Ivan often wants to stay at one house, but is made to go to the other parents' house. The trouble is, he likes both places. How can he be happy when he feels at home neither here nor there?
Kids with good reading skills or parents who assist their children will appreciate a concept that goes beyond the usual story of divorce to explore the mixed feelings of a boy who finds pleasure in two places...but not when he's actually in either one.
The story is pointed, contemporary, and a cut above competitors because it explores mixed-up emotions in more detail than most.
Is 2 a Lot?
Annie Watson
Tilbury House
9780884487159
$17.99
www.tilburyhouse.com
Is 2 a Lot? An Adventure with Numbers is illustrated by Rebecca Evans and moves beyond the usual counting book to examine what is being counted, and how perceptions change depending on the subject.
Two is not a lot of pennies but it is a lot of skunks, for example. As a mother and son's conversation surveys these differences, kids receive a fun story of just how two can be more than ten—or ten can be less (if it involves pieces of popcorn) but a lot (if chomping dinosaurs are being counted).
A fun story evolves which reinforces not just numbers, but concepts of plenty.
King Leonard's Teddy
Phoebe Swan
Child's Play
9781786281845
www.childs-play.com
King Leonard's Teddy tells of a lion king so rich, he can buy anything he wants. This leads to waste, as he's always ready to throw away anything broken or unwanted to replace it with something better.
Trouble begins when something is broken that can't be bought and replaced, and when King Leonard can't find anyone to fix it.
This whimsical story is about more than about waste management: it's about environmental consciousness and how a rich lion learns the value of thrift and repairing old things.
Parents will find it a delightful lesson wrapped in a fun story.
Maya and the Lost Cat
Caroline Magerl
Candlewick Press
9781536204230
$16.99
www.candlewick.com
Maya and the Lost Cat tells of a young girl who finds a small cat on a roof during a storm.
As she tries to find Cat's humans, she falls in love with the cat while the cat's people await her return. How can two people who love the same cat find a happy ending?
A fine story evolves in which Cat becomes a hero and Maya gains an unusual reward for her efforts. Kids will relate to a gentle story of a lost cat and a girl who quickly loves her.
Ocean Secrets of the
Deep
Sabrina Weiss & Giulia
de Amicis
What on Earth Books
9781999968076
$19.99
www.whatonearthbooks.com
Ocean Secrets of the Deep pairs some 200 color illustrations, maps, and charts with a lively survey of different marine environments in the oceans, marshes, deltas, and waterways of the world. It emphasizes ecological connections and wonders as it explores creatures in the ocean and threats to the world they inhabit.
From discussions of 'plastic soup' seas and coastal ecosystem fragility to polar ecosystems and unusual friendships between sea creatures, Ocean Secrets of the Deep will delight advanced elementary to early middle school readers looking for a lively format, lovely nature drawings, and stories that draw clear connections between habitats, ocean creatures, and human influences upon their safety and viability.
The format and presentation are outstanding examples of how well-done artistic illustrations can be effective alternatives to color photos.
Simon and Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com/kids
Three new arrivals provide young picture book readers with excellent stories and insights that stand out from the crowd, providing lasting value for any elementary-level collection.
Muon Thai Văn and Matt Myers' The Most Terrible of All (9781534417168, $17.99) tells of Smugg, who takes comfort in the fact that his magic mirror insists he's the most terrible monster ever.
Things change when a new monster moves in next door, but can the interloper truly replace him?
Fun drawings of colorful monsters which are more whimsical than terrifying enhance a story that comes with a surprise, departing from the traditional fairy tale takeoff to explore satisfyingly different concepts.
Ashley Bryan's art in Blooming Beneath the Sun (9781534440920, $17.99) is complimented by poems by Newbery Award honoree Christina Rosetti in a lovely pairing designed to marry classic nursery rhymes with visual embellishments celebrating animals and nature.
From the observations of birds in the hedge to the wonders of a peacock or a little owl's dream, Blooming Beneath the Sun offers a fun series of poems that are absorbing and light.
Carter Goodrich's Nobody Hugs a Cactus (9781534400900, $17.99) tells of Hank, the prickliest cactus in the world. He sits in a pot that faces a desert and likes being alone, but too many people invade his space.
And, why do they all seem to want to hug a prickly cactus that only wants to be left alone?
It's up to Hank to devise a plan to solve this problem, and up to parents to enjoy this book with ages 4-8, who will appreciate Hank's dilemma as a loner prickles from too much attention and seeks an easy way out of a complex problem.
Sleeping Bear Press
www.sleepingbearpress.com
Two new picture books are fun, fine recommendations that offer read-aloud parents and kids some new, different entertainment.
Cathy Breisacher's Chip and Curly: The Great Potato Race (9781585364084, $16.99) tells of a potato chip and a curly fry who enter a potato sack race at the annual Spud City Festival. Curly is a new competitor and wants to win just as much as Chip.
Potato puns and humor abound for laugh-out-loud reading as the two competitors make their best efforts, documented with zany drawings by Joshua Heinsz.
Grades K-1 will appreciate Book 7 in the 'I Am a Reader!' series, Judy Young's Digger and Daisy Go Camping (9781534110229, $9.99), about sibling dogs who like to explore and have new experiences.
This simple story finds the duo headed to the woods to camp out. Digger has worries about the outdoors and natural experience, but Daisy is determined to have fun.
Everything seems fine, until night falls...
Kids will enjoy this fine story of new environments and their challenges.
Sun
Alison Oliver
Clarion Books
9781328781628
$17.99
www.hmhco.com
Sun loves everything about playing soccer and is fixated on the sport, but feels that something is missing from life.
When a magical fox provides further insights on the roots of happiness beyond this passion, Sun learns many other basic pleasures about life and is able to grow beyond his singular purpose and fixation.
Simple one-line descriptions of this process make Sun accessible to the very young, who will receive an invaluable lesson on exploring more than one interest to make for a more well-rounded life.
Superlative Birds
Leslie Bulion
Peachtree
9781561459513
$15.95
www.peachtree-online.com
Superlative Birds is illustrated by Robert Meganck and pairs a poet's voice with fun illustrations that introduce a range of not only birds, but poetic styles.
Science notes conclude each poem, while the fun drawings create added interest in the facts.
Superlative Birds initially comes across as a picture book for the very young, but ages 8-12 with good reading skills and a special interest in science or birds will find it a fine read.
Viking Penguin
www.penguin.com/kids
Three new picture books offer delightful contrasts in fun with original topics, engaging drawings, and stories parents will find suitable for either read-aloud or a young reader's self-entertainment.
Mark Lee and Brian Biggs excel with What Kind of Car Does a T. Rex Drive? (9781524741235, $17.99). It's a fun tale of various dinos who end up at Uncle Ott's car lot. Uncle Otto is an experienced car salesman, but he really has no idea of what a dinosaur driver might desire.
It's a good thing Ava and Mickey, young dinosaur enthusiasts, are there to help him: but even they are puzzled by the tastes of the picky T. Rex.
A zany story emerges.
Susan Choi's Camp Tiger (9780399173295, $17.99) receives lovely drawings by John Rocco as it tells of a boy and his family who like to go camping and who enjoy nature.
Now the boy's entering first grade and his mother is encouraging his independence just as camping becomes somewhat of a challenge.
Good reading skills are required for this detailed story of a boy's first-person narrative of a family's strange encounter with a talking tiger who stays with them throughout a weekend. Lessons are reinforced about helping the young protagonist become more self-sufficient.
Just Like My Brother by Gianna Marino (9780426290606, $17.99) tells of Little Giraffe, who is enjoying a game of hide-and-go-seek with her big brother. As she describes his looks to other animals around her, they convince her that she, too, is as tall, fast, and brave as the brother she so admires.
When the game goes in an unexpected direction, Little Giraffe learns some valuable lessons about her own worth in a gentle story of how a younger sibling finds value in her life.