Going Green: Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann

It's a lovely day, and Pinkalicious is in full costume--tiara, pink dress, and wand--as she and little brother Peter head outside to the park. But what's this?

A PILE OF GARBAGE!

"YUCK!" SAID PETER. "IT SMELLS!"

"THIS USED TO BE OUR FAVORITE PARK!" I SAID.

Their once-green  space is littered with trash, the trees are shedding their leaves, and their beautiful picnic place is a mess. Can Pinkalicious use her wand to fix all this?

Well, with a heart-shaped wand and a silly rhyme or two, Pinkalicious knows just what to do.

"DETERGENT, DOUGHNUTS, AND DIRTY DISHES.
PINKALICIOUS LOVES HER WISHES.
MAKE THIS PLACE EMERALDALICIOUS!"

Wishes and wands have magic powers, and Pinkie's powers soon transform the trash into a peaceful scene, producing a carpet of flowers and turn the erstwhile dump into a playground again.

Victoria Kann's just-published (and already best-selling) book in her famous series, Emeraldalicious (Pinkalicious) (Harper, 2013) takes Pinkalicious into a colorful and fantastical adventure as she rounds up and recycles litter magically to restore her favorite park. Even Peter gets into the act as they vanquish trash, and with a packet of sparkly super-seeds, the two have a new mission.

"WE HAVE THESE SEEDS AND WITH A LITTLE LOVE, WE CAN MAKE THE ENTIRE WORLD EMERALDALICIOUS!

AND THAT WOULD BE GREENERIFIC!" 

See the trailer for Kann's latest here.

Copying Cupid! Nancy Clancy: Secret Admirer by Jane O'Connor

ALL AT ONCE, NANCY SAT UP. SHE COULD FEEL AN IDEA TAKING ROOT IN HER MIND. ANDY DIDN'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND. ANNIE DIDN'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND. "BREE!" SHE SAID EXCITEDLY.

ANDY AND ANNIE. THEIR NAMES WENT TOGETHER LIKE TWO PUZZLE PIECES.

ANNIE AND ANDY. IT SOUNDED LIE THE TITLE OF A SONG!

OOH LA LA! NANCY'S IDEA KEPT GROWING. SHE COULD ALMOST FEEL IT BLOOMING INTO A FLOWER. NOT JUST ANY FLOWER, BUT A BEAUTIFUL RED ROSE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

Business is slow down at Nancy's Sleuth Headquarters. February seem to be a slow month for detective work. And her teacher, Mr. Dudeny, has given all his "Dudes" uninspiringly plain pre-cut "appreciation hearts" to fill out for each of their classmates, so Nancy has no reason to break out the pink paper, doilies, and glitter, and she's craving some Valentine excitement. When she discovers that her cute guitar teacher Andy has broken up with his girlfriend and her "best babysitter in the universe" Annie is similarly single pro tem, Nancy sees the perfect matchmaking opportunity within her grasp.

Best buddy Bree is soon on board, and the two would-be romance brokers write a sweet note from a secret admirer for Annie, even adding a few of  Bree's mom's birthday roses (only slightly droopy, with most of their petals).  Nancy gets to use the Clancy clandestine skills as they stealthily bike over to Annie's house and leave the love tokens on her porch.

And when Bree and Nancy learn that Andy has a gig playing at a Valentine's Day birthday party at their favorite ice cream parlor where their little brother and sister Freddie and JoJo are guests, the two Cupids get their chance to stage the perfect "cute meet." All they have to do is leave another note inviting Annie to rendezvous with her admirer at the cafe after Andy's gig, and true love will take its course.

Nancy and Bree beg to go along with their siblings, feigning  a burning desire to shop at Belle's Boutique next door, but the two steal out of Belle's and into the alley  to peak through the cafe window to see if Cupid's arrow is finding its mark.

Things look good.

AT A TABLE IN THE BACK, THERE THEY WERE--ANNIE AND ANDY. ANDY AND ANNIE. THEY WERE EACH HOLDING A SPOON. IN BETWEEN THEM WAS A BANANA SPLIT. ANNIE WAS LAUGHING AT SOMETHING ANDY SAID.

IT WAS LIKE A MOVIE, ONLY BETTER--THIS WAS REAL LIFE!"

Nancy and Bree are about ready to swap their Detectives for Hire sign for a Matchmakers Par Excellence shingle, until they find out that Andy and Annie have been best buddies since preschool. Nancy's mom points out that their affection is apparently platonic, not romantic!

NANCY AND BREE EXCHANGED SAD LOOKS. THAT WAS WHAT NANCY FIGURED PLATONIC MEANT.

IT WAS THE FIRST FANCY WORD SHE DIDN'T LIKE!

But knowing Nancy Clancy, we know she's still hoping that love will find a way, in her latest chapter book, Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Secret Admirer (Harper, 2013). After all, it's Valentine's Day and surely love is in the air! With Robin Preiss Glasser's charming black and white drawings sprinkled lavishly throughout the text, this beginning chapter book (like its predecessor Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth) is the perfect transition to the novel for Fancy Nancy fans.

As the typically tough, Kirkus Reviews  practically coos, "the logical series for fans of Fancy Nancy to fall in love with. Ooh la la!"

Turning the Page: The Return of the Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy

SCHOOL LIBRARY TIMES

"Time has come to turn the page" says Miss Lotty, the beloved librarian of Sunrise School. The students had hoped that she would shelve plans for retirement, but Miss Lotty says her departure is long overdue.

Happily the librarian promises to remain in circulation and renew old friends. When asked to recall her fondest memories as a librarian, she replied, Dewey-eyed, "Over twenty years ago, a little footnote of a girl named Molly Brickmeyer showed me how wrong I was to keep children from their books."

It's true. Sweet Miss Lotty, nee Ms. Lotta Scales, was once a real Library Dragon, until she shed her draconian operating system (along with her scales) and devoted her fiery fielty to her treasure trove to sharing it with the kids of Sunrise Elementary. But now the Sunrise kids are distraught.

"If you leave, "who will read to the little kids?" pleaded Milo, "or dress up in goofy costumes for Library Week?"

"Why, the new librarian will do all that--and more" Miss Lotty reassured him.

Sunrise's legendary "library goddess" is really ready for retirement. That is, until she shows up for her last day at work, sees an ominous sign on the door (PROGRESS IN PROGRESS), and finds her library lair looted of ALL of its treasured tomes, replaced by a winking, blinking, beeping bunch of devices, presided over by the IT guy, Mike Krochip, now in charge of Sunrise Library ver.2, The Cybary!

"It's a brave new world," beamed Mike Krochip. "Check out the Book-Be-Gone 500. It will Kindle your Fire!" Mike tells Miss Lotty.

Suddenly Miss Lotty feels the fire of ire growing inside her, filling her with hot rage. A little puff of steam passes her lips as she blasts, "That's Lotta Scales to you, Mister!" The Library Dragon, claws, scales, tail, and all, stands in her precious library in its brand-new "improved" edition and takes the opportunity to fire Mike Krochip and sear his trove of whiteboards, printers, tablets, and e-readers.

"I will eat every last byte before I'll let them take my library." roars Lotta Scales.

Will Sunrise Elementary return to its bygone book era, or will it become merely a download depot for tablet devices? Is there to be no cyber compromise at Sunrise?

Almost twenty years after their first book, The Library Dragon, became beloved of bibliophiles, Carmen Agra Deedy and Michael White have re-Friended in their cyber- friendly sequel, Return of the Library Dragon (Peachtree, 2012), with their portrayal of a revised Sunrise School Library in the hands of its savior, the now degreed and certified "Media-Library-Cyber-Book Specialist," Molly Brickmeyer herself, who promises that as the new library goddess of Sunrise, hers will be a place for all formats, but a place where kids can still "unplug" if they wish and read those treasured books.

Like its predecessor, this sequel comes with a full set of apps in the form of punny wordplay, from the text itself to the sly touches among the illustrations. (Even the books in the library have spoofy titles.) Older readers will giggle at literary allusions to the McPad and the MePod and adults will delight in this comic view of the transition of the modern library. With its predecessor, this newest release makes fine fare for Library Week story time.

Kirkus Reviews hands out kudos for this update: "White's brightly colored, squashed and squiggly full-bleed illustrations match the tale for good goofiness. Pro-book and -library quotes on the endpapers and multiple punny book titles in the illustrations add an extra touch of fun."

In a bit of an ironic twist, perhaps at the bequest of Miss Lottie, Return of the Library Dragon ia NOT available in an e-book version, not even from Book-Be-Gone, er, Amazon.com!

The Envelope, Please! 2013 Newbery and Caldecott Awards

The American Library Association is announcing their prestigious Youth Media Awards, including their most-famous medals for youth fiction and picture books, today. This year's Caldecott Award, given to the best-illustrated book, is the seventy-fifth annual such award. I'll be live-blogging the winners as they are made public.

The winning titles were announced and livestreamed beginning at 8:00 a.m. PST (11:00 a.m. EST).

And here they are!

The 2013 Caldecott Medal goes to Jon Klassen for his This Is Not My Hat.(See my recent review here:)

Caldecott Honor Awards go to illustrator Aaron Reynolds for his Creepy Carrots!, Jon Klassen for his work on Extra Yarn, Laura Vaccaro Seeger for her Green, (see review here:)  David Smalls for his pictures for One Cool Friend, (review here) and Pamela Zagarenki for her illustrations in Sleep Like a Tiger.

The prestigious Newbery Medal goes to Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan.

Newbery Honor Awards go to Laura Amy Schlitz for Splendors and Glooms, Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin, and Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal for the best beginning reader's book was awarded to Ethan Long's Up, Tall and High.

Geisel Honor Awards  were given to Mo Willem's Let's Go for a Drive! (An Elephant and Piggie Book), (see review here) Eric Litwin's Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, (my review here) and Cece Ball's Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Katherine Paterson, perhaps best known for her Bridge to Terabithia.

The Andrew Carnegie Medal for the most outstanding children's video goes to Video Productions' film, Anna. Emma and the Condors.

The Michael Printz Award for young adult fiction goes to Nick Lake's In Darkness.

The Pura Belpre' Awards for Latino children's literature go to illustrator David Diaz for Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert, (review here) and author Benjamin Sienz for Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (also the winner of the 2013 Stonewall Award.)

Taking the Siebert Award for the best informational book for children was Steve Sheinkin's Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. The Batchelder Medal for the best foreign book for children translated to English went to My Family for the War by Anne Voorhoeve.

Receiving the Coretta Scott King Medals were Brian Collier for  his illustrations for Langston Hughes' I, Too, Am America.   and author Andrea Davis Pinkney for her Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America: Coretta Scott King Honor Awards went to illustrators Kadir Nelson for I Have a Dream (Book and CD),  Daniel Minter for Ellen's Broom, and Chris Myers' H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination. King Fiction Honor Medals went to Vaunda Nelson's No Crystal Stair (Carolrhoda Ya) and to novelist Jacqueline Woodson's Each Kindness.

The 2013 Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Medal was presented to Demetria Tucker.

The YALSA Medal  was awarded to Andrea Davis Pinkney for her Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America.  Andrea Pinkney was also  named  to present  the  2013 Arbuthnot Lecture. YALSA's nonfiction honors went to Steve Sheinkin's Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. making Sheinkin the informal 2013 triple crown winner

The Odyssey Award went to the audio book version of John Green's novel, The Fault in Our Stars produced by Brilliance Audio.

The Margaret A Edwards Medal for lifetime contributions of young adult literature was given to Tamora Pierce, and the William C. Morris new author award went to Rachel Hartman for her first novel, Seraphina.

The 2013 Alex Awards, given to ten adult books with special appeal to young adult readers, includes the National Book Award Youth Fiction winner, Louise Erdrich's The Round House. The complete list may be found here.

Trot with Me: Noni the Pony by Alison Lester

NONI THE PONY IS SHINY AND FAT.

HER BEST FRIENDS ARE DAVE DOG AND COCO  CAT.

Noni is the pony that every boy and girl would want to bring home. She loves to dance and gallop for the entertainment of the cows, ducks and hens, but her favorite fun is playing chase and hide-and-seek with her friends Coco and Dave. Coco even gets to go for a trot on Noni’s back.

But Noni is not just a fair-weather friend. If their day ever turns wet and gray, well, Noni has tales to liven up the day. She almost never frets or even has a fright...

BUT ONE IN A WHILE, SHE GETS SPOOKED IN THE
NIGHT!”

Well, who doesn’t? But when Noni snuggles up with her friends, what can go wrong?

THEN NONI THE PONY SLEEPS ALL NIGHT LONG.

Noted for her realistic illustrations of horses in Running with the Horses and Quicksand Pony, the admittedly Horse Crazy author-illustrator Alison Lester turns her talents this time to the youngest of horse fanciers in her newest, Noni the Pony (Beach Lane Books, 2012). Here Lester’s simple rhyming verse trots along on the page with as much zest as her subject, and her stylized drawings of this dappled equine move with an easy gait to tell the story of this pony’s playful day. Lester’s big-eyed pinto is sweet and perky as a pony should be, and the artist alternates a bright white background with varied full-color bleeds so that each page appears fresh and full of fun. Noni is a pony that every little horse lover can keep (with no stalls to sweep!).

FLIPPA-FLAP, SNIPPA-SNAP! Go, JoJo, Go by Tessa Bickford and Jennifer Castles

"IF YOU KEEP SWIMMING, JOJO, YOU'LL REACH THE WHITE SNOW LANDS," SAID DADDOO.

"THE ICEBERGS ARE QUITE A SIGHT TO SEE."

Although the little Gentoo penguin JoJo loves her "beautiful beach" on Macquarrie Island and life with Daddoo, Mammoo, and lazy brother Ballyhoo, like all youngsters she can't wait to learn how to do it all--swimming alone in the ocean and traveling to the fabled land of ice and snow to the south.

But first she has much to learn.  From the elephant seal Bubbah, a big, soft blob on land and fast and graceful in the water, she learns the joy of swimming.  JoJo watches with envy as he slides into the sea to catch his fishy dinner. Meanwhile, she has to dodge the hungry skua birds, with their sharp, snapping beaks and worry about a sudden attack from a huge orca, beaching itself suddenly to snap up baby penguins.

Still, JoJo had fun with the other chicks and soon grows so big that she can laugh at the skuas and swim from rock to rock in the tidal pools, dreaming of how she will bite that orca on his nose if he dares to swim up.

Then suddenly she feel herself changing.

ONE DAY MY FUZZY BABY-COAT STARTS TO COME OFF AND THERE ARE SMOOTH, SHINY FEATHERS UNDERNEATH.

Now Jojo can slip through the water as gracefully as Bubbah, and she builds her endurance every day until she is ready for her first solo swim out beyond the seaweed forest, to the blue sea where she meets a scary but gentle Minke whale and catches her first ocean fish.

AND ONE DAY I'LL GO AS FAR AS THE WHITE SNOW LANDS. 

I'VE HEARD THE ICEBERGS ARE QUITE A SIGHT TO SEE.

Tessa Bickford's and Jennifer Castles' Go Jojo Go! (Allen & Unwin, 2012) is an easy-going photobio essay which is an excellent introduction to the study of penguins in general and the Gentoo in particular. Bickford alternates her full-bleed photo pages with dialogue pages as she describes the development of a young penguin, the sights and sounds around her, the care of her parents, and the steps toward becoming one of those intrepid penguins to make the "big swim" from their nursery on Macquarrie Island all the way to their base camp in Antarctica. JoJo is an observant narrator, and her juvenile adventures as she grows makes a delightful guide to the study of this fascinating aquatic bird.