Books of the Day 2022 #19
Books of the Day 2022 #18
Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee ill. Molly Brooks & Becky Glendining
“The graphic novel unfolds over the course of a year, and the representation is informed by the author’s and illustrator’s own childhood journeys of coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is explored in accurate detail throughout Katie’s arc, and the illustrations enhance the depiction, with bees flying around her head whose buzzing increases and decreases in intensity to match the franticness of her thoughts. The varied panels and dynamic, colorful art maintain visual interest. Katie and other main characters read as White; the supporting cast is racially diverse. A poignant account of journeying through life while navigating mental health and friendships.” KIRKUS
“In thick, angular brushstrokes, Brooks (the Sanity & Tallulah series) renders the white protagonists with simplified features and a warm palette. Tracing Katie’s earnest tack to navigating friendships old and new, her growing interest in the theater, and a burgeoning understanding of her obsessive compulsive disorder—detailed respectfully throughout—the creators lend flashback-level realism to a story of one child’s world growing larger with age and experience. Secondary characters are racially diverse; back matter discusses Ormsbee’s and Brooks’s experiences growing up with OCD.” Publishers Weekly
An irresistibly relatable graphic novel about friendship, anxiety, and growing up.
Katie knows there’s stuff that makes her different. She’s homeschooled, she has freckles, and her teeth are really crooked. But none of these things matter to Kacey. They’re best friends forever–just like their necklaces say. But when they go to summer camp, Kacey starts acting weird. What happened to the “forever”? And when Katie gets home, she can’t stop worrying. About getting braces. About 6th grade. About friends. She knows tapping three times or opening and closing a drawer won’t make everything better . . . but sometimes it helps stop the worrying. Is something wrong with her? And will anyone want to be friends with her if they find out?
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The Friendship Bench by Wendy Meddour ill. Daniel Egneus
Tilly has just moved to a new house, by the splash and curl of the sea. She loves doing cartwheels in the sand and playing catch with Mummy and Shadow the dog. But when it is time to start her new school, Shadow and Mummy must stay outside. And inside is full of strangers. ‘Why don’t you try The Friendship Bench?’ says her teacher, when Tilly is playing alone. ‘It helps children find new friends to play with.’ But when Tilly gets there, somebody is already on it . . .
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Books of the Day 2022 #17
Books of the Day 2022 #16
The Thief Who Sang Storms by Sophie Anderson ill. Joanna Lisowiec
Times Children’s Book of the Week 2 Apr 2022
“This beautifully written tale of a divided nation is loosely based on characters from a Russian folksong. It explores bereavement and persecution, but ultimately celebrates the power of friendship, trust and hope to reunify enemies and establish peace.” BookTrust
“Builds into a powerful plea for unity and understanding in a world of division and fear.” BfK 5-star review
The Island of Morovia is shaped like a broken heart. The humans live on one side of the island, and the alkonosts – the bird-people – live on the other. But it wasn’t always this way…
Linnet wishes she could sing magic, like her father, Nightingale, and bring the two sides of her island together again. For her land has been divided by a terrible tragedy, and Linnet has been banished with her father to the deepest swamps, leaving behind her best friends, Hero and Silver. So when her father is captured, Linnet must be brave and embark on a treacherous journey. Through alligator pools and sinking sands, she finds new friends. Yet without her singing magic, Linnet discovers something even more powerful. Something that could save her father, and heal the broken heart of her island once more…
With themes of grief, trust, love, and that we have more in common than that which divides us, this is a book filled with adventure and stunning storytelling.
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