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Book Review: All Hallow’s Eve by Jennifer Hughes, illustrated by Agus Prajogo

All Hallow’s Eve by Jennifer Hughes, illustrated by Agus Prajogo

Mascot Books, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1684011643

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

 

October is THE month for storytelling and reading aloud, especially with kids, who see it as THEIR holiday. A majority of picture books for this time of year, however, are either series tie-ins (quality may vary) or standards that have survived the test of time (I will never not read The Hallo-Wiener or The Tailypo if I can get someone to listen)  All Hallow’s Eve is new this year: it’s a tale of trick-or-treating gone creepy. Hughes originally wrote the story in 2000 as a poem for her nieces, who demanded it be read to them over and over again, but set it aside until recently. The sing-songy rhythm and the words hanging on the structure of the familiar poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” make it a fun and easy read-aloud. The cartoony, colorful illustrations of four little witches off to trick-or-treat are adorable, and the last house on the street is spooky. Readers expecting a predictable ending might find themselves at least a little surprised– and kids will probably giggle– at how the story wraps up. Not terribly scary but very Halloween-y, All Hallow’s Eve is a nice find for the upcoming holiday.

Posted on October 18, 2019 by , Reply

Guest Post by Alane Adams: The Gift of Reading

 Alane Adams is a literacy advocate and author who founded the Rise Up Foundation, which supports literacy projects, particularly for children K-8 in  in underserved communities in high-poverty areas. She has written several books, including the middle grade fantasy series The Witches of Orkney. The second book in the series, The Rubicus Prophecy,  will be released today. Alane has written a guest post on the power of libraries and reading– something we’re always ready to share with you here at Monster Librarian!

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The love of reading is one of the most essential gifts we can give our children. Children who grow up reading lots of books develop three important life skills—big imaginations, problem solving, and empathy. Big imaginations are important in order to develop new ideas. Books take us places we have never been and introduce us to new ideas that allow our brains to experience them as if we were there. Having a big imagination leads to better problem solving skills. Most books follow a simple pattern—a character has a problem that needs solving. Voldemort wants Harry dead. Big problem for Harry! Books allow us to follow along with these characters as they struggle, fail, struggle some more, and eventually solve their problem. By inherently modelling these skills, children develop their own problem solving skills coupled with powerful imaginations allowing them to see new paths that have never been forged.

But perhaps the most important aspect that reading teaches is the ability to have empathy. In our everyday life, we cannot read minds—but when we read a book we step inside the mind of the POV character and we know exactly what they’re thinking—if they’re hot, cold, lying, angry, sad. We know everything about them, which allows a very intimate connection we can’t get watching the same story play out on the screen. We can see Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, but we don’t know what she’s actually thinking: we can only read her facial expressions, see her actions, and hear her dialogue. But how will we know if she’s lying? How do we know if she’s smiling that she’s not really sad? That’s the power of books—they allow us inside the character’s minds, allowing us to see not just the outside, but the inside as well, so we know exactly what it feels like to be a boy with magic, a girl facing certain death, or even a pig who only wants a friend.

Libraries play an important part in developing a love of reading as they are oftentimes the only place a child can get access to unlimited books. There are very few places in this world where access to resources is free and unlimited. Getting into the habit of visiting the library regularly with your child will teach them how to respect books by keeping them in good condition, allow them free choice in selecting books they want to read, and hopefully, encourage them to develop good reading habits, because they are being shown—this is important.

About Alane Adams

Alane Adams is an award-winning transmedia author, former professor, and literacy advocate. She is the author of the Legends of Orkney and Witches of Orkney fantasy mythology series for tweens including the newly released The Rubicus Prophecy, as well as The Coal Thief, The Egg Thief, The Santa Thief, and The Circus Thief picture books for early-grade readers. Her new middle grade series Legends of Olympus will launch in April 2020 with The Eye of Zeus. She is also the founder of Rise Up Foundation. She lives in Southern California. For more information, visit https://alaneadams.com or follow Alane on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @AlaneAdamsBooks

Posted on October 15, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Grave Digger by Rebecca Bischoff

The Grave Digger  by Rebecca Bischoff

Amberjack Publishing, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1948705523

Available: Pre-order, hardcover and Kindle edition

 

It’s 1875 in Circleville, Ohio. Captain Cooper’s mother is ill,  and the doctor has to be paid. Although Cap is not yet thirteen, his father has decided it’s time for him to join him and his partner Lum as a “resurrectionist”, a person who digs up dead bodies in order to sell them to medical schools for dissection. The plan is to dig up the bodies of those who won’t be missed (mostly “colored” people), but the dead don’t appear to be staying dead. Cap’s classmate Jessamyn comes back to life after he touches her, and the next body wakes up while they are actually digging. The secret activities of the grave diggers are out, and they have to cover them up and find other ways to acquire the bodies. Cap is spooked, but his mother’s medical bills still have to be paid, and his father insists this is the only way they can raise the money. Beyond acquiring the bodies, Cap realizes that there is a larger conspiracy at work, involving not just unsavory characters, but also some of the most respected individuals in town. While the newspaper stirs up the town, it is mainly the “colored” people who are affected, and their demands for a cemetery guard are left unanswered. We can all be grateful that this is a middle-grade novel and that, while a book about grave robbing, burying people alive, and human dissection will obviously have some disturbing moments, it doesn’t get gratuitously gruesome.

Racism in Circleville’s general population doesn’t rear its head in overtly violent ways, but in white people’s daily choices and conversations, like the Coopers’ housekeeper’s resentment of and unwillingness to interact with Jardine, an African-American woman who is a friend and hear of Cap’s mother, comments about “those people”, and the choice to zero in on body-snatching the African-Americans in the cemetery.  It intersects with sexism as well, with Jessamyn’s mother feeling that the only choice she has to support her child is sex work (it’s referred to indirectly), and Jardine’s daughter Delphia, after telling Cap of her ambition to be a doctor, bracing herself for the expected comment “but you’re a colored girl!” and laughing when he says “but you’re a girl!” instead (either way, in 1875, ten years after the Civil War ended, she’d be unlikely to get into medical school, but the book treats it like it’s a real possibility– props to Bischoff for that).  It is noticeable (and relevant to the present day) that there are so few consequences for anyone who participated in the grave-robbing scheme and lived to tell about it.  That’s probably realistic, and in a middle-grade novel you want things to turn out for the protagonist, but I think this ending requires a conversation. There is a myth in the Midwest that because the Underground Railroad had a strong presence that there must not have been other race-baced issues (I can’t tell you about Ohio specifically, but it’s definitely the case in Indiana), and this book exposes that.

There are a lot of schools that can’t officially celebrate Halloween (my district doesn’t allow it) but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to celebrate the season. The Grave Digger is a great historical fiction choice with a macabre touch to promote to the right elementary and middle-schoolers at this time of year.  Highly recommended.

Posted on October 4, 2019 by , Reply
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