Call Me Al by Wali Shah and Eric Walters

March 21, 2024

The relationships in this novel are some of its best parts. Though he struggles with loneliness, Ali is never truly alone. For one, Ali has his Dada, or paternal grandfather. As we learn of Iqbal Khan’s tragic backstory, Ali’s Dada serves as the facilitator of so many lessons, showcasing the importance of listening to and being supported by elders … More Call Me Al by Wali Shah and Eric Walters

Duel by Jessixa Bagley, illus. Aaron Bagley

March 14, 2024

It was a pleasure reading Duel by Jessixa Bagley. Once I started, I couldn’t put this story down. The dialogue is incredibly believable, and exactly how middle-schoolers tend to speak. This book perfectly captures how hard it is to be a young teen navigating the world and reminded me of my own time in middle school. From tricky friendships and conflict with parents to healing after loss, the issues that arise in Duel are tackled very well. … More Duel by Jessixa Bagley, illus. Aaron Bagley

Roy is Not a Dog by Esmé Shapiro and Daniel Newell Kaufman

March 7, 2024

Shapiro and Kaufman’s love of language shines through in the prose, with lots of alliteration and assonance on each page that rolls off the tongue as you read aloud. The main characters are delightfully verbose – precocious Pam Pam insists that Weasel’s “evidence is faulty”, while Weasel is convinced that “a dog living on its own must be quite a dog.” And, I stand by the fact that not enough picture books feature words such as “indubitably” and “sophisticated”! … More Roy is Not a Dog by Esmé Shapiro and Daniel Newell Kaufman

Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai

March 5, 2024

Catfish Rolling is not here to provide us with all the answers, but to remind us that there are multiple ways to exist and understand reality. Temporality is such a captivating and sometimes frightening subject, and I was completely invested in Sora and her father’s obsession with figuring out how the zones work. Ultimately though, the message of Catfish Rolling is that trying to control time instead of simply trying to understand it has dire consequences. … More Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai