All the Blues in the Sky

I saw that Renée Watson had written a new book, so I got All the Blues in the Sky from the library. The book description says, "Sage's thirteenth birthday was supposed to be about movies and treats, staying up late with her best friend and watching the sunrise together. Instead, it was the day her best friend died. Without the person she had to hold her secrets and dream with, Sage is lost. In a counseling group with other girls who have lost someone close to them, she learns that not all losses are the same, and healing isn't predictable. There is sadness, loneliness, anxiety, guilt, pain, love. And even as Sage grieves, new, good things enter her life-and she just may find a way to know that she can feel it all."

I LOVED this book. It was beautifully written (not surprising since I love most anything Renée Watson writes). I loved Sage as a character and watching her work through her grief. The plot and side characters were just flawless in how everything came together. The book had me tearing up, and I feel like it was just an important, relatable book for young people who are dealing with the loss of someone they love. Great read.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Radiant

I don't even remember how I came across Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, but I put it on hold at the library. The book description says, "As school begins in 1963, Cooper Dale wrestles with what it means to 'shine' for a black girl in a predominantly white community near Pittsburgh. Set against the historic backdrop of the Birmingham church bombing, the Kennedy assassination, and Beatlemania, Radiant is a finely crafted novel in verse about race, class, faith, and finding your place in a loving family and a complicated world. Cooper’s primary concern is navigating fifth grade, where she faces both an extra-strict teacher and the bullying of Wade Carter, the only child of a well-to-do white family, whose home Cooper’s mother cleans for extra income. How can she shine when her mother works for the meanest boy in school? To make matters worse, Cooper quietly wishes she could be someone else."

I loved this book! It was a quick and engaging read, and I loved Cooper as a character. I loved that there was nothing overwhelmingly heavy in her life and instead she had deep empathy for someone else dealing with something heavy. (Just different than the plot of many books.) I thought the book had great messages and was just an uplifting read. I really enjoyed it.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

The Daughter of Auschwitz

I got The Daughter of Auschwitz by Tova Friedman on audiobook after hearing it recommended somewhere. The book description reads, "Tova Friedman was one of the youngest people to emerge from Auschwitz. After surviving the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in Central Poland where she lived as a toddler, Tova was four when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp, and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp, while her father was transported to Dachau. During six months of incarceration in Birkenau, Tova witnessed atrocities that she could never forget, and experienced numerous escapes from death. She is one of a handful of Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale. As Nazi killing squads roamed Birkenau before abandoning the camp in January 1945, Tova and her mother hid among corpses. After being liberated by the Russians they made their way back to their hometown in Poland. Eventually Tova's father tracked them down and the family was reunited. In The Daughter of Auschwitz, Tova immortalizes what she saw, to keep the story of the Holocaust alive, at a time when it's in danger of fading from memory."

I'm super glad I read this book. I think Holocaust stories--especially memoirs--are so important to read to just help us never forget all that happened. The phrase that kept coming to mind as I read this book was impossible choices. Honestly, Tova's parents were put in situations where they had to make choices that were so difficult. Who knows what you're supposed to do at times like that? It's unbelievable all Tova went through as a young child (facing horrific death in front of her eyes starting at age 4) and so inspiring that she was able to survive and raise a family and have grandchildren and continue to tell her story. Tova really went through the unthinkable as a young child, and I'm glad she was able to tell her story so it is available to future generations. It's a heavy story but a meaningful message.

* * (2/3 = Liked it)

One Big Open Sky

I got One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome from the library after seeing it won both the Newbery honor and Coretta Scott King honor. The book description says, "1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer Lettie may have her head in the stars, but her body is on a covered wagon heading westward. Her father, Thomas, promises that Nebraska will be everything the family needs: an opportunity to claim the independence they’ve strived for over generations on their very own plot of land. But Thomas’ hopes—and mouth—are bigger than his ability to follow through. With few supplies and even less money, the only thing that feels certain is danger."

This was a great read. It was written in verse but was a slower read than the usual books I read in verse. I really loved Lettie as a character and especially loved when Philomena joined the story--really loved her. I also liked a character named Mr. Cole. I liked that this book covered a historical time period/situation I didn't really know much about--black pioneers moving west during the Reconstruction time period. The book had some heavy stuff without being too sad to enjoy/keep reading, and it included some good messages. I think it's a well-deserved Newbery honor.

* * (2/3 = Liked it)

The First State of Being

I got The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly from the library on Monday right after I heard it got announced as the new Newbery Medal winner. The book description says, "It's August 1999. For twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever—except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his sixteen-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby. It turns out that Ridge is carefree, confident, and bold, things Michael wishes he could be. Unlike Michael, however, Ridge isn’t where he belongs. When Ridge reveals that he’s the world’s first time traveler, Michael and Gibby are stunned but curious. As Ridge immerses himself in 1999—fascinated by microwaves, basketballs, and malls—Michael discovers that his new friend has a book that outlines the events of the next twenty years, and his curiosity morphs into something else: focused determination. Michael wants—no, needs—to get his hands on that book. How else can he prepare for the future? But how far is he willing to go to get it?"

This was a fun read. I don't read lots of science fiction, so it's one of those books I maybe wouldn't have read if it didn't read the Newbery. I really liked the characters and felt like everyone was just really deep and well developed. I liked Michael as the worrier but also how he knew how to gently help Ridge during some tricky times. I thought the plot of the book was super fun, and I liked how it gave us perspectives from both time periods throughout. I also enjoyed the messages the book taught between the lines. (Some memorable ones are the Conklin Principle: "For every bad outcome you can anticipate, you should consider at least one positive outcome." And how you have to live in the first state of being, the now. You can't do what-if thinking because that's third-state thinking, and you'll never get anywhere with that.) Erin Entrada Kelly is a really talented author, and this is a well-deserved Newbery. I think my husband and daughter would enjoy this book.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

2025 Picture Books

Back in 2023, I made a post about picture books, highlighting two really good picture books I had read and noting that I'd add more throughout the year. Well, I didn't end up adding any more, but I figured I'd try that again this year. I have 2 to start, and maybe I'll actually add more this round. :)

[Adding later: I am adding more! Basically I'm adding any picture book that I read and think, Wow, I loved that!]

The Yellow Bus by Loren Long. I saw this on a possible Caldecott short-list, and it didn't end up winning anything, but I thought the story was clever and beautifully written, and the pictures were beautiful.

Touch the Sky by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic. I also saw this on a possible Caldecott short-list, but it also didn't win. I thought the illustrations were beautiful, and I really loved the message of the book (trying something hard, not giving up, helping others). The book also had some really good humor in there (Gretchen and the things her mom says to her).

This won the Caldecott Honor this year. The illustrations are beautiful, and I just love how they tell the story even on pages with very few words. The book got me a little choked up and was really sweet.

This won a Sydney Taylor Honor (for outstanding books for kids that authentically portray the Jewish experience), and I just loved the story! Just a super cool guy that really made an impact.

This won the Caldecott this year, and I think it was well deserved. Really nice pictures and just a sweet, relatable story.

Kareem Between

I saw Kareem Between by Shifa Salvage Safadi on a list of possible Newbery contenders, so I got it from the library. The book description reads, "Seventh grade begins, and Kareem’s already fumbled it. His best friend moved away, he messed up his tryout for the football team, and because of his heritage, he was voluntold to show the new kid—a Syrian refugee with a thick and embarrassing accent—around school. Just when Kareem thinks his middle school life has imploded, the hotshot QB promises to get Kareem another tryout for the squad. There’s a catch: to secure that chance, Kareem must do something he knows is wrong. Then, like a surprise blitz, Kareem’s mom returns to Syria to help her family but can’t make it back home. If Kareem could throw a penalty flag on the fouls of his school and home life, it would be for unnecessary roughness. Kareem is stuck between. Between countries. Between friends, between football, between parents—and between right and wrong. It’s up to him to step up, find his confidence, and navigate the beauty and hope found somewhere in the middle."

This was a great read. I liked that it addressed recent current events and helped readers understand what it would feel like to be affected by things like the 2017 travel ban from Muslim countries. I thought Kareem was a relatable character as he tried to figure out how to balance things in his life, and I thought the regular football tie-ins would be fun for kids who are football fans. The book was written in verse, and I thought it was clever how the author moved the verse to the right side of the page (right aligned) when the speaking was taking place in Arabic.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)