What This Story Needs Is a Bang and a Clang
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Emma J. Virján. Harper, $9.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-241530-1
Virján’s wig-wearing pig returns in her fourth picture book, a noisy outing that gets underway after the pig builds a bandstand and attracts an outfit of instrument-playing animals. As in the previous books, there’s raucousness to spare in Virján’s punchy rhymes (“This story also needs a twang, a tootle, a ping, a boom,/ a brup, a jingle, and a doom-doom-doom”), and children can easily match up the various instruments with the sounds they make, from the “tish” of an elephant’s cymbals to the “bwap” of a monkey’s trombone. The Pig on a Wig Band’s music gets temporarily disrupted when a mouse with a (tiny) tuba frightens an elephant, but it isn’t long before they are up, running, and attracting applause. It’s good, boisterous, musical fun. Ages 4–8. Agent: Edite Kroll, Edite Kroll Literary. (Jan.)
The Storm Whale in Winter
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Benji Davies. Holt, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-250-11186-9
Noi helped care for a young beached whale in Davies’s The Storm Whale, and although the two parted ways at the end of that book, the whale gets a chance to return the favor in a sequel with its own high stakes. When Noi’s father doesn’t return after taking his fishing boat out on an icy day, Noi ventures after him (“I must be careful! he thought, stepping out onto the thick ice”). He finds his father’s boat, but not his father, and just when Noi’s fear reaches its apex, the whale and its pod appear and help push the stranded boat through the ice back to shore. Once again, Davies’s careful storytelling and muted artwork draw substantial emotional depth out of Noi and his father’s seaside life, a setting both realistic and dashed with magic. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)
Lily and Bear: Grumpy Feet
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Lisa Stubbs. S&S;/Wiseman, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4814-7167-1
In this follow-up to Lily and Bear, nothing seems right to Stubbs’s heroine, Lily: “The day was too rainy, the teapot was too dribbly, and the sunshine color was missing.” After Lily again draws her friend Bear into existence, he diagnoses her with “grumpy feet” and sets out to improve her mood. With its crayony scrawls, bright colors, and childlike renderings, Stubbs’s artwork immerses readers in Lily’s world, which expands fantastically as Lily and Bear venture into outer space to visit the moon, polish the stars, and locate a baby unicorn. The language can get a bit gushy at times, but Stubbs offers concrete ideas (make a list of things to do, put “happy shoes” on those grumpy feet) that could help some children turn around their own “grouchy and mouchy” days. Ages 4–8. Agent: Jodie Hodges, United Agents. (Jan.)
Dill & Bizzy: Opposite Day
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Nora Ericson, illus. by Lisa Ericson. Harper, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-230453-7
Readers of Dill and Bizzy’s first outing already know that they are, respectively, an “odd duck” and a “strange bird,” but things get even kookier in this funny sequel, when Bizzy announces that it’s Opposite Day. This means dinner for breakfast, speedy morning runs instead of waddles, and a “loud dance party” instead of a quiet rest, all of which leaves Dill miserable. The Ericson sisters are working in near-perfect comic sync, and Lisa Ericson’s airy cartooning telegraphs the sense that Dill is trapped in a waking nightmare with no escape. Luckily, a little logical maneuvering—“Bizzy,” Dill ventures, “if it is truly Opposite Day, we are worst enemies”—is all it takes to persuade Bizzy to give it a rest. Readers thinking about declaring their own Opposite Days may find themselves thinking twice. Ages 4–8. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Jan.)
The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussy-cat
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Julia Donaldson, illus. by Charlotte Voake. Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-9081-6
At the close of Edward Lear’s classic poem, first published some 145 years ago, the Owl and Pussy-cat were newly married and dancing to the light of the moon. But what happened next? Donaldson (The Gruffalo) picks up in the immediate aftermath of that tale as a crow makes off with the Pussy-cat’s ring. The two give chase “in a beautiful blue balloon,” and Donaldson seeds their travels with references to nonsense places and creatures (the Chankly Bore, the Jelly Bo Lee) from other Lear poems; indeed, the cat’s ring winds up with none other than the Pobble Who Has No Toes. Donaldson’s graceful rhymes and rhythms are respectfully true to Lear’s original, and Voake’s wispy ink-and-watercolor artwork strikes a similarly fine balance between honoring Lear’s illustrations while bringing new life to this ever-charming pair of lovers. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)
The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power
Ann Bausum. National Geographic Children’s, $18.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-4263-2665-3
In a powerful and timely book, Bausum (Stonewall) focuses her attention on the last great march of the civil rights era, the March Against Fear, from Memphis, Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., in June 1966. Initiated by James Meredith in an effort to make Mississippi a less fearful place for black Americans, the march swelled to 15,000 people and resulted in 4,000 black Mississippian voter registrations; it also splintered the major civil rights organizations of the day and gave rise to Stokely Carmichael’s Black Power movement. Bausum dissects these internal divisions with great sensitivity, lauding Martin Luther King Jr.’s peacemaking powers while illuminating the conditions that provoked others to more confrontational protest. Abundant details disclose the extent of segregation and racism, the pivotal role of law enforcement authorities, and how fraught protecting the marchers could be: state troopers used tear gas and physical assault to “suppress an act of racial defiance” when marchers tried to pitch their tents on public land. This exemplary look into civil rights history concludes with perspective and encouragement regarding ongoing struggles for social change. Archival photos and source notes are included. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)
Death on the River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Amazon Adventure
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Samantha Seiple. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-545-70916-3
This gripping chronicle of a 1914 expedition that changed the map of Brazil highlights a post-presidential accomplishment of Teddy Roosevelt. Setting the scene, Seiple (Lincoln’s Spymaster) writes that, after arriving in Rio de Janeiro for a speaking tour, the “danger-loving, thrill-seeking” Roosevelt was recruited by the Brazilian government to lead, along with local explorer Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, a mission to chart an unexplored and unmapped waterway in the Amazon jungle, known as the River of Doubt. Accompanied by his son Kermit and an entourage of Brazilian camaradas (canoeists and other laborers), Roosevelt embarked on what became as much a journey of survival as discovery. Incorporating quotations from the journals of Roosevelt and the expedition’s other principal members, Seiple illuminates the party’s life-threatening struggles with thundering rapids, punishing rain, disease, injuries, hostile native tribes, insubordination, dwindling provisions, and plummeting morale. Simultaneously, Seiple’s portrait of Roosevelt reveals his perseverance, good humor, selflessness, and compassion, despite potentially fatal malaria and an infected leg wound. Archival photos help draw readers into this death-defying drama. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jessica Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (Jan.)
After the Fall
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Kate Hart. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-374-30269-6
High school seniors Raychel and Matt have been best friends forever, and any day now, Matt is going to tell her that he loves her. But while he’s dawdling, his younger brother, Andrew—the designated screw-up to Matt’s responsible A student—makes his move. In addition to the questions of brotherly rivalry, secrecy, and family dynamics introduced by this turn of events, Raychel is also struggling with a nonconsensual sexual encounter and worrying about her future, since there’s no money for college. Hart’s debut novel has a lot going for it—well-defined and believable major and minor characters, in particular—as well as a lot going on. The book takes up consent, slut shaming, issues of class and (to a lesser extent) race, unrequited love, and competition between siblings—and then adds a tragic accident and the resulting guilt and fractures. Although it can feel overloaded as a result, Hart holds it all together and closes with an ending that retains a measure of hope without becoming unrealistically perfect. Ages 14–up. Agent: Adriann Ranta, Foundry Literary + Media. (Jan.)
In Her Skin: Growing Up Trans
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Trina Sotira. MuseWrite, $15 paper (218p) ISBN 978-0-9899609-2-2
In Sotira’s story of a teenager coming out as transgender, high school senior Tirzah Maxon is happiest when living as Troy—something that only seems possible doing during anonymous trips to hang out with skateboarders in downtown Chicago. Additionally, Tirzah loves best friend Heidi in a more-than-friends kind of way, but it’s unclear whether Heidi feels the same, and Heidi’s conservative Muslim family wouldn’t condone such a relationship even if she did. As graduation looms and Tirzah pursues a soccer scholarship, the teenager bemoans having to play on the girls’ team, struggles in dealing with Heidi and other classmates, and gradually feels empowered to live full-time as Troy. Sotira (Shifts: An Anthology of Women’s Growth Through Change) writes sensitively about Tirzah’s gender dysphoria; the teen’s tender friendship with Heidi and the realistically varied reactions to Tirzah’s transitioning are also handled well. Readers may wish for more resolution concerning Tirzah’s future with Heidi, who drops out of the story somewhat unceremoniously toward the end, but Sotira’s first novel remains a thoughtful portrait of one teenager’s incremental progress toward greater self-knowledge and acceptance. Ages 12–up. (BookLife)
City of Saints & Thieves
Natalie C. Anderson. Putnam, $18.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-399-54758-4
Tina has been living on the streets of (the fictional) Sangui City in Kenya since her mother’s murder at the home of Roland Greyhill, her mother’s employer and the father of Tina’s half-sister, Kiki. Recruited by the Goondas, a gang of orphans and street kids, Tina is the only girl trained to become a foot soldier. As she learns skills to become an accomplished thief, she lives by a series of rules, including “Rule 3: thieves don’t have friends” and “Rule 15: a rule from my mother: run.” As Tina gets closer to exacting revenge for her mother’s death, she discovers that she may not have all the facts. Debut author Anderson, a former aid worker, deftly addresses issues in the region in this fast-paced thriller, highlighting the struggles of refugees in war-torn eastern Congo and the human rights violations that women in particular face. Using a smattering of Swahili, Sheng (street slang), and French, Anderson adeptly uses language to bring Tina’s world to life as she carefully traces her heroine’s history to reveal a shocking truth. Ages 12–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (Jan.)
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