The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park

Two brothers in ancient Korea love the annual New Year's Kite Festival.  Kee-sup loves to make kites using amazing care and exactness.  His younger brother Young-sup has a natural gift for flying kites, reading the wind and instinctively knowing how the kite will react.  The two boys catch the eye of child emperor, and break with tradition while forming a special friendship.

This is an interesting historical fiction.  It is not new but it is on The Battle of the Books list this year so I thought I would read it.  It has some relational conflicts, but it is completely devoid of violence or malice. There are no fight scenes or battles, or evil overlords. It is a good choice for a younger advanced reader, or for kids whose parents don't want their kids reading the rougher stuff.  (2000, 136 p.)

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Jerome is 12 year-old-boy from the ghettos of Chicago.  The story starts when he is shot in the back by a white police officer.  The story follows Jerome over the next year as he wanders as a ghost around the city, unseen by everyone but Sarah, the daughter of the police officer that shot him.  At first he is angry but over time he sees how grief is affecting everyone who cared about him. With the help of other Ghost Boys, like Emmet Till, he gradually learns what he must do so that he, and those he left behind, can move on.

Wow, this is a super gritty book.  Rhodes doesn't sugar coat a single line of the difficult narrative.  She thankfully resists the temptation to vilify the white police who shoots Jerome, but instead shows that his family is in need of healing as much as Jerome's family.  Even though Rhodes doesn't flinch with her descriptions of the tragedy, I never felt overwhelmed.  She does an amazing job of telling things straight, but on a level that I think most 12-year-olds could emotionally process. Throughout the book the reader is hoping that Jerome and Sarah will be able to forgive, and in the end, they do.  Rhodes does get a little preachy during the courtroom scenes, and in the final chapter, but it is not in excess.  This is certainly on my potential Newbery list for this year (and probably, because of its graphic descriptions and politically charged topic,  on several banned books lists as well). (214 p. 2018)

The Endling by Katherine Applegate

Byx is dairne, a species of intelligent dog-like animals that are near extinction. When Byx's family is discovered and killed, Byx goes on a quest to discover if there are any more of his kind or if he is, indeed, the endling, the last of his species.  On the way he meets a strange array of creatures who come to form a kind of family, and who are willing to risk their lives to help Byx reach his goal.

This is another book that is getting a lot of critical acclaim this year. Applegate won the Newbery with The One and Only Ivan, and will certainly be a contender for the Newbery with this one.  Byx's quest feels like an epic action adventure, with fully developed (if a little stereotypical) characters. The political message (that Human greed is harmful to other species) is not subtle but that did not get in the way of my enjoyment of the book. This is the first of a series, and if Applegate does as well with the sequels as she has with this first one it could become a classic. (2018, 383 p.)

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

 Brené Brown is a research social worker and a Ted Talk superstar.  In this book she focuses on learning to be "wholehearted" by accepting who we are and letting go of shame.  She explains her main terms in the beginning chapters, and then talks about 10 "guideposts" or strategies for embracing authenticity.  Her suggestions are based on a series of interviews she conducted about shame, and similarities that she discovered are shared by those she defines as wholehearted. 

This is a very readable self-help book with a lot of good ideas.  If someone could actually do all the things she suggests, they would probably have a happier life.  I read this with my husband, and we got a little tired during the "guideposts" section of her always saying "I discovered during my research".  We started keeping track and she said a variation on that phrase within the first two paragraphs of every chapter.  It might have been nice if she had been able to actually include anecdotes from her interviews, but she does not, probably because she promised confidentiality when she interviewed people. As a result, we just have to take her word for it that the conclusions she draws are legitimate. Still the writing is accessible and engaging and I would recommend it to someone looking for a life pick-me-up.(2010, 137 p)

Black Panther: The Young Prince by Ronald Smith

When I checked out this book I thought it would be a novelization of the recent movie "Black Panther" but it turned out to be a prequel to the movie.  In this story T'Challa is a young teen (middle school aged).  When war threatens Wakanda, T'Challa's father, the king of Wakanda, arranges for T'Challa and his best friend, M'Baku, to travel to America incognito. The goal is to get them out of harm's way and let them experience a different culture. Once in Chicago, the boys have a falling out and M'Baku starts hanging out with the basketball team while T'Challa makes friends with the nerdy kids.  The head of M'Baku's crowd, Gemini Jones, is a self proclaimed warlock.  T'Challa doubts that his boasts of magic power are true, but as time goes on, he begins to suspect that there is something sinister happening among the "in" crowd of boys.  T'Challa has a Vibranium suit that his father gave him "in case of emergency" and T'Challa has to decide whether to use it and reveal his true identity, or let his best friend follow a path that leads to mortal danger.

Ronald Smith is a veteran author that has written a number of successful series for children.  This may not be one of his best, but it was still an entertaining book to read.  The story is very Marvel-esque. As I listened to it I imagined how the different scenes could have played out in a comic book or on the big screen.  There was one part near the end where I thought, "Ok, someone didn't do their physics research when writing this scene." I actually laughed out loud and rolled my eyes it was so ridiculous.  Still, it was a fun book to read.  T'Challa  is a likable character, and though I haven't seen the movie yet I imagine there was a ton of foreshadowing of future events and characters that will make more sense once I do see the movie.  All in all it is a good choice for superhero fans, and fans of the recent Black Panther movie in particular. (2018, 272 p.)

Beep and Bob: Too Much Space by Jonathan Roth

Bob lives 200 years in the future and attends a school in the rings of Saturn.  He has a friend alien, Beep, who goes everywhere with him and talks kind of like Elmo.  In this adventure they visit the dwarf planet, Pluto, and later, a black hole.  The author adds some scientific notes at the end. 

This is a cute little intermediate with simple plot, language and characters.  There is absolutely no attempt to be scientifically accurate in descriptions of space or space travel, but the note in the end includes a few interesting facts about Pluto. The book is illustrated with cartoon line drawings.  Not a likely award winner, but not a bad choice for younger kids looking for science fiction. (2018, 104 p.)

Dog Man and Cat Kid by Dave Pilkey

Dog Man has had such great success in his first three adventures that a big movie studio wants to make a movie of his life. Dog Man leaves little Petey with a babysitter who turns out to be evil big Petey in disguise.  They go to the movie studio and try to wreak havoc, but Dog Man, Sarah, Chief and little Petey save the day.

Dog Man is one of the hottest comic series of the past year.  It is written by the same guy that does "Captain Underpants" and has the same format and style.  Pilkey is so in tune with 4-5th grade humor.  He includes all the best gags.  I actually haven't read the first three Dog Man books, but Pilkey writes enough of the back story in the beginning of the book so the reader can understand who everyone is and what is happening.  (253 p. 2018)

Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea by Lynne Rae Perkins

Alix and her older sister Jools are off with their parents for a week's vacation at the sea shore.  They soon make a friend with a girl whose grandma lives upstairs and have fun making sandcastles, playing in the waves and exploring nearby.  And that is basically it.  I kept expecting them to have some crisis or tragedy.  At the end I was amazed that this book even got published without a huge social issue.  No divorce, no physical or mental handicap, no racial tension, no death in the family.  Wow.  I guess it helps to be a previous Newbery winner. There wasn't even any reference to gender identity, and yet, it was a thoroughly enjoyable book. Imagine that!  This is a great choice for families about to go on vacation, or for those that hanker for the old, more innocent, days in children's literature. (2018, 232 p.)

One Mixed-up Night by Catherine Newman

Frankie and Walter have always loved IKEA.  They love to play the "picking game" with the IKEA catalog.  They love to imagine living in one of the mini demo houses.  Then one day when both of their families are planning to visit IKEA together, they hatch a plan to stay back and spend the night in IKEA just like the kids in the book, "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler." Their ploy of telling their parents that they are each staying at the other's for a sleepover works, and they find themselves alone in their favorite place for the night.  While there they have adventures, and finally talk about the hidden grief that has been plaguing them both.

This is a fun and tender book about friendship and grief.  It is also a bit of a wish-fulfillment book, because what kid hasn't dreamed of spending the night in a department store? Parents will cringe at the amount of destruction the kids cause with their antics, but Newman glosses over consequences. It will be easy to recommend this book to kids.  (2017, 191 p.)

P.S.
You know how it seems that every children's book now has to have a GBLT reference to get published.  Well, Newman was very creative with her little reference.  Frankie and Walter both have cats as pets.  At the beginning of the book they imagine their cats getting married, both dressed in tuxedos, because they are both boy cats.  Total eye role!

The Playbook by Kwame Alexander

This is a nonfiction companion to Alexander's Newbery winning book, The Crossover.  It is a collection of advice about basketball and life, supported by examples and quotes from famous people, mostly black athletes but including some whites, and some non-athletes, like Michelle Obama and Sonia Sotomayor. The advise is solid, and is couched in sports terminology to appeal to a young athlete.  Alexander also includes some autobiographical stories of how he came to embrace and succeed in tennis and what he learned from that. Alexander's examples from the lives of famous people are well chosen and inspirational. They are illustrated with photographs of the people who are quoted/highlighted. This would be a great book to give to a reluctant reader athlete as a gift or as part of a recognition.  (2017, 169 p.)

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Here is a book that is going to be on a lot of potential Newbery lists this fall.  It already has 4 starred reviews.  Candice has moved in to what used to be her grandmother's home for the summer. There she meets the neighbor boy, Brandon, and together they start to investigate the circumstances surrounding an event many years ago that had brought disgrace on her grandmother.  Candice finds a letter among her grandmother's things that tells of a hidden treasure and contains clues to how it could be recovered. As Brandon and Candice follow the clues, they learn about the town's past which is steeped in prejudice and injustice.

In this book Johnson unfolds two stories from two different generations. One deals with the people in the town during the 1950's and their struggles with racial prejudice and segregation. Candice and Brandon have to deal with other kinds of prejudice and bullying while they search for clues in the present. There was a tacit comparison of the racial prejudice of the 50's with the GBLT prejudice today and I haven't quite decided if I think it was a little too heavy handed. The beauty of the writing is not quite par with some other Newbery winners, but the plotting is pretty amazing and is equal to Holes or When Your Reach Me. This is a book that grown-ups will like but it would take a pretty mature child reader to really enjoy it. Still, the Newbery committee is made of adults, and this book does deal with current hot topics.  If it won the Newbery, I wouldn't be too disappointed. (331 p. 2018)

The Heart and Mind of Frances Pauley by April Stevens

Frances is eleven years old and loves to hang out on the rock ledges behind her house.  He is a naturalist at heart and loves to watch the birds that frequent her "rock world."  She also admires the anthropologist Margaret Mead, and fancies herself an observer of people.  Her best friend is the kindly old bus driver, Alvin, and her worst enemy is her own big sister, who is absolutely embarrassed by her little sister's odd behavior. When tragedy strike's Frances' life, she is so bowled over by grief, that she begins to reach outside of the cloistered world in search of comfort and relief from her sadness. 

This is a tender book about grief and growing up with a gentler touch than many current children's realistic fiction.  There is no abuse, crime, dismemberment or addiction involved (though the author did manage to work in a BGLT relationship).  Frances is just a fairly normal girl learning the fairly normally painful lessons of life.  The writing is good, and the characters are well rounded.  This one has potential as a future Mother/Daughter book club book.  (2018, 208 p)