Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Lazlo Strange, an orphaned child raised in an abbey by monks, is a dreamer.  Even at a young age, he often misses prayer time to simply play.  He dreams of magic, fairy tales, and a lost city whose name is only known as Weep.  One day, he is sent on a journey to deliver some manuscripts to The Great Library of Zosma, and never returns to the abbey.

Lazlo works as a librarian, collecting stories, and recording his findings in books he makes on his own with leftover scraps of paper.  In his books is everything he has collected about the lost city.  He is obsessed with knowing all he can, and even though librarians tend to record the adventures of others, he yearns to seek, find, and explore Weep. Uncertain if the city is still even in existence, one day he actually gets the opportunity to go and help with a problem. 

When Lazlo arrives in the city, he is overcome with emotion when he realizes that the situation is dire.  He finds that the city has a history of slavery and cruelty that he cannot fathom.  He eventually meets Sarai, a godspawn left behind, hiding from the humans that would kill her if they discovered her.  Lazlo and Sarai develop an intimate relationship, and the focus of the book seems to shift, distracting the reader from the initial intrigue of learning about the city of Weep.

Taylor's writing is so detailed that I became bored at times and found myself skimming in some places.  There were lots of twists that helped it pick back up during the "down" times, and I was enthralled when Lazlo begins to find out about his own past.  The ending left me hanging, of which I'm not usually a fan. There is a second book, Muse of Nightmares, that I intend to read in search of closure.

This book could be used to discuss relationships and slavery, and the consequences of oppression.  It has some content that is inappropriate, and in my opinion, unnecessary and irrelevant to the story  Overall, I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters and the plot enough to finish it and look forward to reading the second book.

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell

This book will give you warm, snuggly feelings.  A sweet story of kindness and trust,  Wolf in the Snow follows a little girl's walk home from school.  As the snow begins to fall, first gently, and then heavily, the girl loses her way.  Nearby, a pack of wolves with a cub gets separated from the cub.  The girl and the cub meet in the snow, learn to trust each other and help each other.

Wolf in the Snow earned the well-deserved Caldecott Medal for 2018.  The illustrations are stunning as wordless picture books must have impeccable illustrations to tell the story the author intended.  The pictures provide clear details of the story, but still leave some room for imagination.  An obvious, possible activity would be to have students write their own text for the book, giving them the opportunity to use their imaginations and ask/answer questions that the lack of text answers.  Why are the only words in the book the sounds of a dog barking?  How did the girl get lost?  Where did she get lost?  Why did her parents send her to school to walk home in a winter storm?  Students will enjoy that all of their answers to any questions will be correct as they author their own version of the story.

The lack of actual text in the story does not distract from the incredible story that unfolds page after page.  The illustrations depict the heart of a lost, but determined little girl, how she saves a wolf cub, and how the wolf cub, in turn, saves her.  The story is a true representation of why we should choose kindness, because kindness is always right.

This is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose

A squirrel who loves tacos?  Well, why not?  This book is silly and I cannot wait to assign it to my students on EPIC!, which is an online reading program that our school uses.  The hard copy version can also be attained through Amazon and other bookstores, but I was thrilled to see that it had been added to the EPIC! digital library.

This squirrel is cute and witty.  The story will make readers laugh a lot as the squirrel realizes that what is written in the text is what happens in the illustrations.  Not only are the illustrations beautiful, but the squirrel's reactions are hilariously depicted even as he tries to change what happens in the story.  Throughout the book, the text gives a bit of general information about squirrels and the little squirrel offers more personal information (via thought bubbles) that students will find entertaining.  Expect tons of giggles!

A fun activity for students would be to have students change the story the way they would like and make their own book or share it (and illustrate it) in their journals. The book is also a fun springboard to kick off a research project about squirrels.  The combined factual and fictional information in the text makes great discussion points about the difference in fiction and non-fiction text.

This is an awesome book from a new author that I expect to hear from often in the future. Look for his new book "This is a Whoopsie!" that is due out in October, 2018.  I plan to buy the hard copy versions of each title for my stacks.

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol

This book makes me laugh!  Anyone who has children, or teaches children knows that it is often difficult to find time to complete necessary tasks. Sometimes, we just need a moment of quiet to concentrate and work, even though we eventually want to be right back in the chaos from which we retreated.   As a child, I was always entertained and puzzled by the nursery rhyme "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe".  Living in a shoe with so many children seemed so ridiculous, but I loved that story.  This story reminds me of that little rhyme and I will admit, makes me feel a little nostalgic.

In Leave Me Alone, a little old woman lives in a little house with a very large family.  When she prepares to do her important knitting, she finds that there are too many children and too many distractions to get started.  The old woman leaves the house alone yelling "LEAVE ME ALONE!" as she exits, to try to find a quiet place to knit.  The story follows the spunky old woman to several funny and unlikely places until she finds a place to complete her projects. The ending is simple and heartwarming, and the reader gets to see the results of the old woman's hard work.

This story has some interesting vocabulary words such as "wormhole" and "samovar" about which students will be intrigued to discover the meanings.  The illustrations are hilarious and effectively depict the text on each page.  This story would be perfect to discuss story structure, story elements, and sequence.  I cannot wait to share this story with my students!

The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, by Adam Gidwitz

This fantasy book is a great pick as a Newberry Honor.  It is the tale of three children who each has a special gift and a revered hero ghost dog.  They are on the run individually but eventually come together for the purpose to thwart the queen's attempt to burn all books that teach anything but Christianity. 

Along the way, the children use their gifts to protect themselves, and in some cases, the very people that are trying to capture them. There are many short stories embedded in this one epic tale.  Stories of killer farting dragons, overzealous monks, a child with brute strength, horseless knights and visions of the future, to name a few, fill this book with humor and imagination.

While this is a chapter book, which normally would not include illustrations, this book does include "illuminations" in the style of an authentic medieval text.  The pictures that fill the borders of some of the pages exactly depict what the author is communicating through text, but, faithful to authentic illuminations, include pictures that question or contradict the text as well. 

Students will love the engaging stories and the humor.  I mean, do you know a kid that is NOT going to laugh uncontrollably at a story about a dragon that farts deadly gas?  One disappointment is that it does use the word "ass" several times to describe a donkey.  While it is used to directly talk about the donkey, the context it is used makes the other characters laugh and you will likely have students "tattle" on the author for putting that word in there.  For that reason, I would definitely classify this book in my YA collection that requires parental permission to check out.  The stories are great, but I want the parents of my students to be able to make an informed decision when helping their children choose books. 

The Truth About Dolphins by Maxwell Eaton III

Boy, will your students ever love this book!  This informational book is written in the format similar to a graphic novel than traditional informational text.  There is no table of contents, no index or glossary and there are no real photographs, but it is completely full of interesting facts about dolphins and is delivered in such an entertaining medium.  The book has several puns and lots of witty humor coupled with interesting facts that keep the reader engaged until the end.  The end of the book contains a file that is written in the same format as the rest of the book that shows even more amazing facts about dolphins.

Some key topics that are discussed are dolphin birth, echolocation, dolphin behavior, preservation and types of dolphins.  The birth discussion is thorough but very appropriate for young readers. Echolocation is explained in a factual and humorous way.  The book shows the reader how dolphins enjoy play just as children do.  It also explains threats to dolphins such as pollution and boating traffic.  Plus, a variety of dolphin species is presented.

This book is another great read to explore for an IRA (Interactive Read Aloud).  The only thing I think the book could possibly be missing is maybe an index of real photographs of some different dolphin species.  However, the graphic novel format appeals to readers and the illustrations effectively tell the detailed story in pictures of what the text tells us with words.   This book will be added to my "Best of the Best" list to share with my teachers.  Seriously great read!

It Should Have Been You by Lynn Slaughter

Clara Seibert still lives in her twin sister, Moura's, shadow, even though Moura was murdered five months ago.  Clara carries on day by day as the ghostwriter of an advice column for her high school newspaper, knowing that her sister's killer is still at large. Writing helps her forget the horror of the pictures that will forever be in her mind from the night she found her sister murdered.  The column is her safe place.

When Clara receives threatening emails from the anonymous account, she begins to relive the nightmare all over again. Not only do the emails imply that Clara will be next to die, they clearly state that she is the one that should have died instead of Moura.  "It should have been you...but soon."

The investigator in charge of her sister's case still thinks that Clara killed Moura out of jealousy over Moura's success as a brilliant pianist.  Her father is terrified and her mother is simply absent in grief over Moura's death.  Feeling certain that she cannot trust anyone to help her, she is determined to find her sister's killer on her own to put a stop to the threats and never-ending fear.

This story is well-written and engages the reader from the beginning.  The angle continually changes while Clara questions several people of interest, so the story never gets boring. When the story seems all wrapped up in a neat bow, the author throws in an unexpected twist that grips the reader until the end.

The one disappointment for me was the lack of closure of an important relationship in the story.  I would recommend this book solely for entertainment.  I was happy to finally read a new YA book that was more entertaining than politically charged.  Fun mystery/thriller!