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READING STYLE GUIDE

Dog Tale

5/28/2020

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How I Trained My Dog in Ten Days
by Norma Lewis  ill by Tim Tinn-Disbury

It seems particularly appropriate that How I Trained My Dog in Ten Days published on April 1, a day set aside for practical jokes. Meet the dog who plays the ultimate prank on his owner.
Lewis offers a lighthearted take on the joys of pet ownership. The story’s outcome, while predictable, is none-the-less charming as each page reveals yet another attempt by this youngster to train his dog Scamp. It’s a losing battle. Each day the dog inches beyond the boundaries his owner sets. This necessitates the owner constantly moving the goal post. From the garden to the dining room his pet defies the rules, claiming new territory. Ultimately the dog takes ownership of boy's video games, bathtub, and even the pillow on his bed.
​Each page turn confirms young readers’ growing awareness that the dog is winning this power play.
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The authoritative narrator confidently raises his hand while directing readers to be firm and establish clearly defined rules. However it’s Tinn-Disbury’s Scamp who steals the show. The cover image of dog with a smirk on his face and game controller dangling from his mouth makes it obvious who is in charge.
Be sure to view the back cover where Scamp licks his owner’s happy face with a slobbering tongue and a caption proclaims, “Best friends forever!”
Delightful addition to storytime, bedtime, or anytime.
Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.
Pub date: April 1, 2020  Publisher: Peter Pauper Press ISBN: 978-1441332646
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Here Comes Lolo

5/21/2020

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Lolo Series by Niki Daly

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Meet the irrepressible Lolo, a good-natured youngster who loves gold stars and embellishing her paintings with glitter. Lolo lives with her mother and her grandmother in South Africa.
This girl has a mind of her own. She is not interested in the library book with the fairy wearing a frilly pink tutu. No. She wants the book featuring a terrible monster with horns and tusks.
Both Hooray for Lolo and Here Comes Lolo are easy-to-read chapter books brimming with the exploits of this charismatic youngster. She has a lot going on. There are matters of conscience when she finds a  beautiful gold ring and later attempts to rescue a neglected dog. She bravely faces surgery for appendicitis and learns about misunderstandings when she doesn’t receive an invitation to a classmate’s party. Mother and grandmother gently help Lolo learn to confront fear, conflict, and injustice.
Because the series is set in South Africa, readers will encounter some regional vernacular. For example,  Molo is a common Zulu greeting and the Zulu name for grandmother is Gogo.  A punctuation mark located at the end of a sentence is referred to as a full stop. Illustrations and contextual cues help youngsters decode the meaning of unfamiliar terms.
Trim size of about 5” x 8” fits nicely into small hands. Book design features large font with plenty of white space as well as delightful grey scale drawing on every page.

​Daly’s illustrations capture the personality and unique idiosyncrasies of each character. 
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Lolo is a little charmer whose stories will enchant readers. More Lolo books please.

Hooray for Lolo by Niki Daly

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​​Pub date: May 5, 2020  Publisher:  Catalyst Press  ISBN: 978-1946395382

Here Comes Lolo by Niki Daly

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​​Pub date: April 28, 2020  Publisher:  Catalyst Press  ISBN: 978-1946395368
Copies provided by publisher.
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Sweet with a Sprinkling of Salt

5/14/2020

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Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim

What does it mean to follow my heart, anyway?
​What if pleasing my parents and wanting to do comedy are both pieces of my heart?
Hurrah! A middle grade book that is funny. And heartwarming and painfully honest. Bonus: It is served with a side of tasty Korean barbecue.
Meet Yumi Chung, eleven-year-old daughter of immigrant parents. Pressure. She constantly feels parental pressure to excel academically. It's particularly difficult because her older sister Yuri is the embodiment of the ideal Korean daughter: accelerated educational advancement and currently a medical school student.
Not Yumi. Earning high marks and academic accolades are not that important. What she really loves is stand-up comedy. This seems bizarre, as she is painfully self-conscious.
Mom has decided that Yumi will spend her summer with tutoring sessions in preparation for the SSAT, Secondary School Admission Test. ​​​Yumi grudgingly heads off for morning test prep sessions combined with three hours of afternoon study at the library. 
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Then something amazing happens.
​She discovers a comedy club adjacent to the library. What luck! YouTube sensation Jasmine Jasper is facilitating a comedy camp. Right now. At the club. Yumi succumbs to temptation and steps inside. She is mistaken for a camp registrant who failed to show. Here’s Yumi’s chance to shine. Performing using another identity frees her from stage fright. She is a success!
Unfortunately, the family is dealing with several other issues. Her high-achieving medical student sister has decided to quit school and join the peace corps. The family restaurant is experiencing a significant financial downturn. Yumi wants to quit the prestigious and expensive private school favored by her parents and enroll in the new Performing Arts Magnet School.
Yumi's juggling act of working at the restaurant, attending morning test prep classes, maintaining the pretense of studying daily at the library, preparing a routine for an upcoming comedy club showcase, and assuming the identity of another workshop participant all comes crashing down. Big time.
My plans are teetering like Jenga bricks, and I'm going to get caught under the rubble...
Readers will sympathize with Yumi as she tries to unravel the mess that she has created, support the family's business, honor her parents’ wishes, and find a way to realize her dream. Everything doesn't work out perfectly. There are heartbreaking moments and several compromises. However... there are jokes!
​Like Korean barbecue Stand Up, Yumi Chung! is sweet with a few salty tears but definitely savory. YUM! ​Kudos Jessica Kim.

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Holy Hot Cheetos!
It's Yumi's Super-Secret Comedy Notebook
Yumi picked up a tip from her comedy idol Jasmine Jasper. She maintains a journal, recording her observations and reactions to events in her life. These entries could be the basis for possible jokes and comedy routines.
Readers will find several pages from Yumi’s notebook scattered throughout the first person narrative. Yumi accompanies her entries with personal emojis that express her current mood .

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.
Pub date: March 17, 2020  Publisher: Kokila  ISBN: 978-0525554974
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One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

5/12/2020

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One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

What if every bag was used seven hundred times?
Overture
A forest.
A tree. Felled
then shipped to a paper mill.
Tree fibers pressed together
then rolled into a sheet of paper.
Paper. Cut and folded.
Paper bag created.
Entr'acte
A boy enters a shop and purchases a flashlight. The shopkeeper places his purchase in a paper bag.
​The saga begins.

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Song of the Journey
​The boy carries his flashlight home in that little bag. This bit of cellulose will be a part of life events both momentous and mundane. As the years pass it will hold the boy's music, snacks, an engagement ring, flower petals, movie popcorn, toys, kite string, seashells, checkers, markers, family photos and eventually a tiny seedling. A bag is an integral part of life, spanning years of tender relationships. Father embraces his young son and reads to him by flashlight. This father becomes a grandfather. He embraces his grandson and together they share a story with a bag of cookies.
Illustrations are Intricate black and white drawings, some with a soft ink wash. Faces overflow with personality and charm. Expressive body language is omnipresent: a little customer rocking back on his heels to reach the counter, a young child holding tightly to his grandfather's hand as they walk together. Each image is chock full of extraordinary details. The only spot of color is the soft brown bag. Finding the bag on each page becomes a little game.
Coda
The life of individuals as well as trees come full circle. Generations. Renewal. Time. Life. Love. It’s all in One Little Bag.
A wordless book that says so much.
Author's Note
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​The Author's Note is well-worth reading. It chronicles the true story of Henry's paper bag.  Readers will learn of Cole's lifelong interest in forests and protecting the earth.
Discover details about the author/artist of the eloquent wordless book in this Horn Book interview.

One Little Bag: A South Texas Journey

What would happen if a little bag made a journey in my community? Could a bag make a difference for my friends? Could it ease some of the isolation anxiety?  I decided to try a little experiment. It began with four paper bags.
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​I filled the bags with homemade chocolate chip cookies, a handful of individually wrapped Life Savers, and a friendly positive message.
A letter accompanied each bag  described Cole's glorious picture book and suggested ways to keep the bag circulating throughout my community. Instructions were: Refill the bag with perhaps a small treat, an encouraging message, a handmade card or any item that the intended recipient might enjoy.  Place the bag on the doorstep. Afterward send the recipients a text message, inviting them open the door and discover a surprise waiting at the front door. 
Copy provided by publisher.
​Pub date: April 7, 2020  Publisher:  Scholastic Press   ISBN: 978-1338359978
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She was Smart and Strong

5/7/2020

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Bo the Brave by Bethan Woolvin

Bo wasn't too little. She was smart, she was strong...she was Bo the Brave.
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Woolvin has done it again. Incorporating traditional fairy tale elements, she has created a marvelous little story with the unique plot twist that readers have come to expect from this talented picture book author.
Bo lives in the Alpine Kingdom filled with slimy sea monsters, scary cave beasts, and horrid forest monsters.  When her older brothers set off to catch a monster, Bo begs to come too.
The boys tell her no. "You're far too little."
Armed with her bow and arrow, she sneaks out of the castle, in search of a monster to slay. Readers can follow  Bo's travels with the map featured on the end papers
She encounters some strange and possibly fearsome creatures: a Griffin, a Kraken, and a dragon. However, each responds to Bo with kindness and concern.
Bo teams up with these bestiary creatures to rescue a baby dragon who is in the clutches of her brothers.  The boys have captured this little dragon and are behaving monstrously. Bo saves the dragonling from danger and rehabilitates her siblings. All ends well, thanks to Bo's courage and caring.
Woolvin's signature style is marked by bold graphic designs and a limited color palette. Instead of one primary color contrasting with black and white, this story uses a different color scheme. Illustrations are teal with  contrasting pink and orange. The coloring add a fairy tale quality.
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As with all of the author's  picture book tales, girls are smart and strong. Never helpless. Sometimes devious. Inevitably problem solvers. Hurrah for Bo the Brave.

Eye Spy

Want more of Woolvin's witty retellings of traditional fairy tales?  Try Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel. These fairy tales are ever-so-much-more.
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Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.
​Pub date: April 1, 2020  Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company   ISBN: 978-1682631829
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    Barbara Moon

    I like talking about books and  interesting ideas. I like thinking about how books affect my life. Not particularly interested in giving out stars or in rating books. 

    Audio Publishers Association
    2013, - present  Audies judge 
    American Library Association Book Awards and Lists 
    ​2017 YALSA Award Nominating Committee
    2016 Excellence in Nonfiction 
    2014 Margaret Edwards Award
    2012 Odyssey Awards.  
    2009, 2010, 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

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