Smoke and Mirrors by K. D. Halbrook

Weaving a tale of wonder filled with pain, regret, resolve, hope, and a generous dose of magic is difficult. K. D. Halbrook's words seem to flow effortlessly, creating an illusion that is enchanting, while simultaneously heartbreaking.   Sasha and Toddy are children of Cirque Magnifique performers. From infancy, their lives have revolved around the wonder of daring aerial acts and dazzling costumes. People come from afar to marvel at these performances. Everyone, that is, except for the residents on the other side of the island. They will have nothing to do with this strangeness Sasha is devastated when their parents decide that the siblings must attend school with the island children. She believes that she won't fit in. She doesn’t. ​The Cirque kids were color in a gray world, they were many languages and strange accents, they were children of bizarre grown-ups who didn’t have normal jobs or wear normal clothes or carry the same tired expressions in their eyes, like the other island parents did.

You remember every nice thing that's happened to you. The people who hugged you when you were sad. The ones who invited you to their birthday party and gave you nicest piece of cake. You think about the most beautiful sights on the island.

The Lifters by Dave Eggers read by Dion Graham

Gran, short for Granite, and his family have moved to Carousel, living in his great grandfather's old home. Everything seems lonely and a bit off balance. No one at school speaks to him. It's as if he doesn’t exist. One day he comes upon classmate Catalina entering a hidden door in the ground. Gran is intrigued and follows her. He discovers a series of subterranean tunnels, crisscrossing the earth beneath the town. He watches as Catalina labors underground, propping up the tunnels with all manner of items to keep the town from sinking. The two join forces, working to defeat The Hollows, powerful winds which sense sadness and threaten to tunnel deep underground, blowing away the foundations of Carousel.

Listen Up

Bonus

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

Welcome to the world of Victorian England’s chimney sweeps. Jonathan Auxier has created a tale that is part historical fiction, part fantasy, part social commentary, and pure magic. ​Nan Sparrow has only known life as a chimney sweep. From infancy she was nurtured by a man she calls the Sweep. Together they did more than simply survive a grubby, demanding life of toil and deprivation. Instead he taught Nan to find joy in what others might deem a joyless existence. ​The Sweep had never understood how a person could sleep through the sunrise. 'It's like Heaven itself is offering you a gift you're too lazy to open,' he used to say. Then he'd wink and add, 'Ah, well. More for us.'

​And yet, here in the dusty crawl space, she held a miracle in her hands.

"A sage or rabbi--​ that is, a Jewish priest— forms a body out of mud or clay and then brings the creature to life with a sort of magic word called a Shem"...
"In your stories, why did the rabbi make his golem?"
"Why does a person create anything? Out of necessity... The golem is made to help people who fear for their lives.”

Stories to Tell. Stories to Share.

Sometimes on nights when there was no food to eat, the girl and her Sweep used to make Story soup. The girl would fill her pockets with trash she found on the streets - scraps of paper or trampled strings or bits of colored glass. At the end of the day, she would present these things to The Sweep. “Make Story soup!” she would tell him.’
​”Oh-ho!” The Sweep would always exclaim, rubbing his belly with both hands. ‘You’ve brought us ingredients for a right feast!’

​It's a very private thing to open a present and a person deserves to do it on his own way.

Bonus: The Wit and Wisdom of Sweep

​What is a year?
A year is a bunch of days put together.
Oh, it's much more than that! ...A year is a little lifetime.

The Book Tree by Paul Czajak ill Rashin Kheiriyeh

Imagine a world without books. Paul Czajak invites youngsters to visit the fantastical world of Arlo, a boy who loves to read. One day, while nested in the branches of a tree with his book, misfortune strikes. The volume slips from his hands and lands upon the head of the mayor. Furious, the mayor immediately calls for the destruction of all books, as he deems them dangerous. Arlo is bereft  when all books are torn apart and the pages float away. He is not the only one missing books. There are no more stories for children at nap time. Meals become dull, as there are no cookbooks to consult. The theater ceases to perform as there are no scripts to enact. Arlo determines that perhaps he can create stories of his own. His writing germinates a torn book page, buried deep within the earth. A book tree begins to grow, nourished by the stories Arlo writes and shares. Eventually the book tree is filled with books and the town springs back to life.

Meet the Author

​"​When it comes to science people have this idea that it is all numbers and equations, but in fact science is filled with creativity.  Go look at a picture of the Hadron Collider and try to tell me that didn’t take some serious imagination."

He is the author the Monster and Me series.  Monster Needs Your Vote might be an appropriate selection to read during this national election cycle. ​Paul has created coloring pages, which may be downloaded from his website.

Meet the Illustrator

Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico
by David Bowles

Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico stitches together a remarkable tapestry of Mesoamerican mythology. David Bowles begins by amplifying and enriching the saga of well-known brothers: Feathered Serpent, also known as Quetzalcoatl, and Heart of Sky, also known as Hurricane or Tezcatlipoca, with fascinating details gleaned from his extensive research.  His poetic language is rich and evocative. Feathered Serpent burst from the cosmic sea and took flight through the endless sky, his long bodyrippling with bright red, green and blue plumes. Heart of Sky swirled to life in the heavens before dropping to waters and spinning like a violent cyclone, dark smoke curling from the black mirror on his forehead. The narrative continues in roughly chronological fashion, recounting the five ages of the world. The fifth age includes stories of the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca in human form, as well as retellings taken from Mayan and Aztec lore.

The book concludes with the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. Importantly, this account is presented from the point of view of the conquered indigenous people of Mexico and provides much needed perspective and understanding to this period of history. One of the most compelling aspects of this work is the inclusion of bold and fearless women. Brave Erendira loved the earth and her mother country.  She desperately tried to rally her people to fight the invading armies. Riding a captured white horse, she was a symbol of hope.  Princess Donaji was destined to serve her people and eventually give her life for them. She was beheaded and from her severed head blossomed a lily of exquisite beauty. Her likeness is memorialized on the city of Oaxaca's coat of arms.

In the early 1940s the former St. Augustine temple was turned into a public library.  Juan O'Gorman painted a graphic history of Michoacán right where the altar used to be. Princess Eréndira is riding the white horse on the left side of the painting. Wikkipedia

Page Fright by Wade Bradford ill Mary Ann Fraser

​Bradford offers a refreshingly different riff on the time-honored classic tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and in the process breaks the fourth wall in a unique fashion. Characters move off script and step outside the book’s pages. At the outset, a charming but slightly self-absorbed young Goldilocks welcomes readers into the volume containing her story. Unfortunately Papa Bear, who inadvertently becomes the story's main character, becomes flustered and can't deliver his scripted lines.

Bears Times Three

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

Somebody and the Three Blairs by Marilyn Tolhurst ill Simone Abel

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall

The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz ill Hatem Aly

Created by Jesse Casey, Adam Gidwitz, and Chris Smith

Can we start with the ring? This ring is the finger adornment that dreams are made of.       Defende Fabulos Defend the Imaginary      Potege Mythica​ Protect the Mythical Just think of it. ​It is noble. It speaks of grandeur.  This is one amazingly cool ring. ​I understand that it may only be worn by members of the Unicorn Rescue Society. ​​Professor Fauna, sign me up now. Please.

It's Elliot Eisner's first day at a new school and already he's feeling more than a little uneasy. The day is starting with a field trip. Boarding a bus with students he doesn't know, supervised by a teacher he has never met, and heading into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey does not appear to be a promising start.  Elliot and his new-found friend Uchenna Devereaux soon learn that this field trip will not be like any other school excursion they have experienced.  A very strange-looking man, with hair that "stood up from his scalp like he was in the habit of kissing electric eels" introduces himself to the busload of students as Professor Fauna and promises them a dangerous expedition. "Indeed. Danger is the greatest teacher." Then it happens. Elliot and Uchenna encounter a small furry blue creature, shaped like deer, with claws on its two front  feet and red bat-like wings.  It is a Jersey Devil, resident of the Pine Barrens.  Not only do they see this mythical creature, they carefully hide it in Uchenna's backpack.

Stay Connected to the Society

The Unicorn Rescue Society Book Tour with Adam Gidwitz April 7 Book Launch 4-6 pm @ Brooklyn Pubic Library, Central Library, Dweck Center  April 19 California 4 PM @ Copperfield's Books, Petaluma  April 21 Cavalcade of Authors Washington State University, Tricities May 21 Chicago 4:30 PM @ The Book Stall, Winnetka June 28 Follett's Reading Con, Northern Illinois University Conference Center,Naperville July 13 BYU Books for Young Readers  @Provo City Library at Academy Square, Provo

Meet Mr.Gidwitz

Join the Unicorn Rescue Society

Get Ready for a New Adventure

Stuck in the Stone Age by Geoff Rodney ill by Hatem Aly

Have you ever read a book that was so funny that you found yourself laughing out loud? Have you ever found people looking at you and asking “What’s so funny?” When this happens, you look up from your book and realize that you are making a public scene. Immediately you attempt to stifle the guffaws bubbling up inside you. Eventually you acknowledge that you can’t control your laughter. It is time to decide: either put the book away until you are alone or just keep reading and ignore the curious stares. This precisely describes my experience as I laughed my way through Stuck in the Stone Age by Geoff Rodkey. Note: I kept reading.

​"You think we'll be okay?" "Definitely not." "We'll survive, though, right?" "Not a chance." "Not even if we brace ourselves?" "Did you take physics?" "Yeah, But I got an H in it." "What's an H?" "It's a little worse than a G."

Bonus Resources

Wild Swans by Xanthe Gresham Knight ill by Charlotte Gastaut

​Some tales get lost over time. They fall through the cracks of pavements or are washed out into the ocean. But some child, playing on the street or digging in the sand, will catch sight of a story gleaming like a chip of old china or lost silver. They will pick it up, hold it to the light and never rest until they have experienced every moment. Perhaps you are one such child.

And thus it begins. In the hands of a skilled storyteller, Wild Swans weaves its magic with lustrous words and images. The King of the North was blessed with eleven sons and one daughter Eliza. A plague swept through the land, taking the lives of many, including his wife. The king remarries a woman who possess powerful skills of healing and magic. She sends the brothers away to teach them about the world, as well as protect them from the plague. Casting a spell upon the boys, they become swans by day, human at night. Eliza grows up, far from the plague-riddled kingdom, learning to spin and knit. When she receives word that her father and stepmother have succumbed to the plague, she goes in search of her brothers. Eliza learns that she can reverse the stepmother’s enchantment by gathering nettles, spinning the prickly fibers into yarn and knitting a tunic for each boy. Time runs out. She completes all but the sleeve of the eleventh tunic. Tossing a tunic upon each swan, the boys permanently become human. One brother retains a white wing, due to the missing sleeve. The princes return to rule the eleven kingdoms of the north. Eliza is crowned Queen  and rules over all.

Meet Xanthe Gresham Knight

Introducing Charlotte Gastaut

Charlotte Gastaut is a talented French artist. Her work includes an extensive variety of projects. In addition to book illustration she has been commissioned by companies such as Godiva to create product packaging.   Her work has also been embraced by the fashion world.  Some of her illustrations were reproduced on dresses of Maison Fendi, for a fashion show at Rome's Trevi Fountain. The collection was designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Gorgeous design. Sumptuous art.

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World by James Sturm

​Each year during the San Diego Comic-Con, winners of the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are announced. Recognition is awarded to outstanding comics and comic-related materials published during the previous year. Among the many categories, this year's nominees include a stellar group of comics published for early readers. ​Take a look at one of the nominees for this year's award.

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World by James Sturm introduces readers to the playground antics of two friends: Ape and Armadillo. As Agents of Evil, they devise a scheme to combat the evil forces of the world. However, there is a problem. Armadillo has developed his own special plan. Ape will combat the evil-doers. Armadillo will sweep in afterward, assuming the role of the conquering hero. This is not working so well for Ape and he objects. It's unfair! There follows a discussion on the meaning of "unfair" and what is a "good idea" entails. Eventually the friends compromise, negotiating a plan that both agree will work. Engaging characters, sparkling dialog that zings when read aloud, great action scenes which include a space cannon, plenty of gentle humor, and ice cream, make this a sure-fire hit for young readers. Bonus: There are also dogs. Lots of dogs. World domination like you've never experienced it.

I have planned a few workshops and storytimes to take place this summer. One workshop will be with a group of teens and a separate storytime will be for children whose ages span a wide range. I plan to use this book along with the comic panel templates and prompts. While the book is specifically geared to younger readers, the concepts translate well with middle grade and teens interested in creating their own comics. ​Thanks James Sturm and Toon Books for this fantastic leveled comic for early readers.

Why yes. I do have a signed copy!

Companion Books

Burt's Way Home ​by James Martz

The Creeps: The Trolls Will Feast ​by ​Chris Schweizer

I'm Grumpy ​by Jennifer L. Holm & ​Matthew Holm

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea ​by Ben Clanton