Month: December 2024

Nonfiction picture books about animals: ‘When Beavers Flew,’ ‘Narwhal,’ ‘Life After Whale,’ ‘Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live,’ ‘An Animal a Day,’ and ‘A Dinosaur a Day’

/ Pamela Kramer

This is a wonderful and disparate collection of nonfiction picture books, and they all deserve attention for many reasons. Librarians and teachers should consider these because of the important subject matter, the quality of the writing, and the engaging nature of the illustrations. From information about animal homes to facts about the elusive narwhal, there’s a lot of learning that will go on when kids peruse these books. They would also make great additions to a classroom library, a school (or public) library, or a child’s bookshelf at home. These are about animals, and therefore sure to be a kid magnet.

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‘The Close-Up’ by Pip Drysdale is a dive into the LA world of fame and failure, devotion and deceit

/ Pamela Kramer

Reading a book that immediately pulls you in because the narration is so frank, so honest, and yet so lovely, is one of the best feelings in the world. You get immersed in the plot and the characters, and time flies. That’s how “The Close-Up” by Pip Drysdale struck me and why I read it in 24 hours. It’s not a deep read that make us stop to reread paragraphs and ponder the deep meanings contained therein; instead, it’s a lively, lovely first person narration featuring Zoe Ann Weiss, a novelist whose first novel tanked and who can’t, for the life of her, write the second promised (and paid for) novel.

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‘The Yellow Bus’ by Loren Long is both a beautifully illustrated and deeply thoughtful picture book (discussion questions included)

/ Pamela Kramer

Legions of children, teachers, librarians, and parents love picture books by Loren Long for the fabulous stories, the colorful, clever illustrations, and the heartwarming messages each contains. “The Yellow Bus,” his latest creation, is no different. This time the illustrations are ingeniously created so that the yellow bus, the star of the story, is the only thing in the story that has color. Everything else is drawn in black and white and grey.

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‘Remember Me Tomorrow’ by Farah Heron is a sweet, paranormal YA mystery/romance

/ Pamela Kramer

“Remember Me Tomorrow” by Farah Heron could be placed under many genres. It’s a young adult novel and a mystery, but there’s a paranormal twist and a romance mixed in. Main character Aleeza has a tiff with her best friend and moves out of their shared dorm. The only available room is in a much older dorm across campus, and when Aleeza arrives there, she realizes it’s available because the occupant, Jay, has disappeared.

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‘Dead Below Deck’ by Jan Gangsei is a YA thriller filled with secrets and hidden agendas

/ Pamela Kramer

In “Dead Below Deck,” author Jan Gangsei creates a young adult thriller that is all about fake identities, dark secrets, the lives of the top 1 percenters, and how far people would go to protect the ones they love. There are four teenagers on the million dollar yacht that is taking them to the Cayman Islands over spring break, and Maggie is the first person narrator.

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‘What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird’ by Sy Montgomery

/ Pamela Kramer

“What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird” is written by one of the world’s most famous writers of essays and books about animals. Sy Montgomery has written about hummingbirds, hawks, octopuses, pigs, moon bears, dolphins, tigers and more. She’s also written about Temple Grandin. Montgomery knows animals, and through her writing, we understand that she holds animals in high esteem. Her newest little book is about chickens; she raised them for decades.

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‘All the Other Me’ by Jody Holford delves into forgiveness and grace

/ Pamela Kramer

In “All the Other Me,” author Jody Holford captures that question that many of us have pondered: are there other universes in which we live different lives because we’ve made different decisions? What if I hadn’t done that, we might wonder. How would my life have been different? In this novel, we meet Isabelle Duprees, the main character. She is an extremely successful businesswoman, one of the top one-percenters. She receives accolades, invitations to galas, the best tables at restaurants. But as extremely successful and capable as she is in business and her professional life, her personal life is anything but successful.

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‘Shell Games’ by Bonnie Kistler is her best mystery yet

/ Pamela Kramer

I’ve enjoyed both of Bonnie Kistler’s previous novels, “The Cage” and “Her, Too,” but her latest twisty mystery, “Shell Games,” is her best yet. In this superbly crafted novel, we truly don’t know who is guilty of what, and the way she masterminds the ending is nothing short of brilliant. There are novels that you can’t stop reading because you care about the main character or characters; this is one where you can’t stop reading because the plot is so gripping, you can’t wait to find out what happens next, what is true and what isn’t, and who is telling the truth.

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