Effie Starr Zook has one more Question by Martha Freeman

Precept 47: Clean feet at happy feet

Precept 1: A man's beard is a signifier of his special place in the natural order of things

Precept 2: A woman has her own special place in the natural order of things

Precept 151: The future cares as much about your wrongs as your rights

Publisher blurb: After being shipped off to stay with her aunt and uncle in Nowheresville, Pennsylvania, city girl Effie Starr Zook stumbles upon a mystery that leads her to an old family feud in this "accessible and exciting" (School Library Journal, starred review).  A rich girl from New York City, Effie Starr Zook isn't afraid of much. When her parents go on a dangerous round-the-world adventure in a solar airplane, she's packed off to her aunt and uncle's farm for the summer. Expecting boredom, she runs smack dab into a family secret. Why does the neighbour kid want to avoid her? What are her aunt and uncle so worried about? And what does "bad blood" mean, anyway? Effie's got a brand-new bicycle, time on her hands, and an unlimited capacity for asking questions. With these, she sets out to uncover whatever it is the grownups are hiding. Along the way, she'll contend with crackpot politics, serve coffee in a bookstore café, and learn more than she bargained for about her famous great-grandfather, the inventor of the barf bag. Fast-paced and funny, this is a story about having the courage to find out who you really are. Look out, world--when Effie Starr Zook has questions, she won't take no for an answer!

I actually ran out of middle grade novels a couple of weeks ago so I charged up my old ipad and purchased a couple of ebooks (Kindle). I have no memory of how I found this one but I do think the title and cover are very appealing. I read this whole book in one sitting and the surprise at the end warmed my heart. Sadly this book is no longer available here in Australia in paperback and the hardcover is too expensive to consider for a school library purchase but perhaps you can access an ebook version of this book from a public library.

On the surface this feels a light, sun-dappled read, but within the depths of this story lurk compelling truths about sexism and racism that give shadow, dimension, and heft to this perky yarn. Effie’s growing awareness of her privilege and its origins is an appropriately complicated one. Kirkus

Opening sentences: "Effie Starr Zook looked out the bedroom window, and what she saw made her heart go thud. There in the pen with Alfred the Goat stood a little boy."

Here are a few text quotes to give you a flavour of the writing in this book:

Effie is a city girl "she knew a smoothie from a lassi, a cemita from a torta, and a latte from a cappuccino."

About Effie herself: "Effie was ordinary looking. Among the other eleven-year-old girls at her school, she was a little shorter than average and a little more square. Her hair was brown and opinionated. Her best feature, her eyes, were warm and brown besides being unusually large like her mother's and aunts."

Mr Yoder "He was big all over - tall and wide without being fat. He had abundant dark blonde hair on his head but the most striking thing about him was the hair on his face - the biggest beard Effie had ever seen in real life."

Pendleton Odbody "He was broad-shouldered with a mass of black braids that tumbled to his shoulders. He was dressed in khakis and a long-sleeved button-down shirt made from the puckery fabric called seersucker. He wore square glasses with wire frames."

Food at the country show: "The flyer says kettle corn, funnel cake, cheese on a stick, and cornhole. ... I don't even know what those things are. ... It will be a cultural experience."

I also love some of the vocab in this book: maudlin; emesis bags; scion; preposterous.

"How can you not ask questions? I always have questions."

Companion reads:

Halfway to Harmony

Pieces of Georgia

The Parker Inheritance

Penguin Awareness Day

Chinstrap Penguin - Australian Antarctic Program

Penguin Awareness day is January 20th so I am a few days late with this post but really you can and should celebrate the wonders of penguins any day. Every year we share a number of books about penguins with our Grade One classes in the library. Sadly a few of these are now out of print but you may be lucky and find them in a well stocked library. Of course in most books about penguins the main plot line explores the desire of the little penguin hero - he or she wants to fly. Over time I have found these are the penguin picture books I love to share:

Blurb: This year, I was very specific in my letter to Santa Claus. Each year at Christmas, Joe writes a letter to Santa. But they've had a few misunderstandings in the past. Last year, for example, Joe wanted a fire-engine-red racecar with retracting headlights, and he did get one -- but it was only three inches long. So this year Joe is really, really careful. He describes exactly what he wants -- and on Christmas morning, guess what's waiting for him under the tree! Santa has brought him a living, breathing, black-and-white penguin named Osbert. Will anything in Joe's life ever be the same?

In the UK this book is called A Mum in a Million. Blurb: Pip the little penguin chick is worried about starting school. He loves his penguin lessons - from sliding to making waterholes, school for a chick is great fun. It's just the end of the day that's scary. All penguin parents look exactly the same, so how will he spot his mum when it's time to go home? His teacher Miss Peck has devised a plan to help all the little chicks find their mums but she doesn't count on the parents all thinking the same too! Pip needn't worry, Mrs. Penguin is an imaginative mum who is determined not to give up until her clever idea finally ensures that she's the one who stands out from the crowd.

This is quite an obscure little book but it has such a warm message about the love a mother shows her child. The final twist is sure to make you smile (and sigh with happiness). 

Plot from Wikipedia (spoiler alert): Opus is downhearted because, as a penguin, he cannot fly. He orders a machine and assembles it; when it comes time to test the machine by jumping off a three-mile-high cliff, Opus decides to do something less dangerous, and goes home to make anchovy Christmas cookies. He does not give up on his dream though, and makes a Christmas wish to Santa Claus for "wings that will go!" On Christmas Eve, Santa is making his usual delivery when he loses his reindeer and crashes into a lake. Opus jumps in and uses his natural swimming skills to pull Santa out. To thank Opus for his daring rescue, a group of ducks pick him up and take him flying through the air. 

Watch this video (the music track is perfect).  Here is the 20 minute animation. This is partly a Christmas story but I do think you will enjoy it at any time of year. 

Blurb (Amazon): Joe's Mum says he can't have a pet. So he gets creative and makes a pet penguin from his scrap box. His new pet, Pingwing, moves in next to the yoghurts in to the fridge, after all they do like the cold. Mum even likes Joe's new pet. It doesn't eat much, doesn't smell and hardly takes up any space at all, didn't cost a thing and never makes a sound. Joe decides his new pet is lonely and creates some siblings, then they need parents and of course some cousins and aunts and uncles too! Soon he has an entire family of penguins. They're still quiet pets, but Mum has nowhere to put the yoghurts, or the eggs or the butter.

Blurb:  Arthur is a penguin and a worrier. One morning he wakes up feeling excited and worried all at once. Dad has promised him a birthday party and there's an awful lot to think about. Will Ben burst all the balloons? Will Dad perform his terrible magic tricks? Or might it be the very best birthday party a little penguin ever had?

Here is my previous post about this book. There are three books in this series. 

Blurb: One day a penguin arrives on a boy′s door- step. The boy decides the penguin must be lost and tries to return him. But no-one seems to be missing a penguin. So the boy decides to take the penguin home himself, and they set out in his rowing boat on a journey to the South Pole. When they get there, however, the boy discovers that maybe ′home′ wasn′t what the penguin was looking for after all... 

Tacky the Penguin book series by Helen Lester - Tacky in Trouble; Tacky and the Emperor; Three Cheers for Tacky; Tackylocks; Tacky goes to Camp; Tacky and the Winter games; Three Cheers for Tacky; and Tacky and the Haunted Igloo. 

Penguin Facts:

• Penguins have a waterproof coat of short, overlapping feathers. 
• They have a well-developed layer of fat for insulation.
• Penguins feed on small fish and krill which they catch one at a time. 
• Their main predators are other marine animals, such as leopard seals and killer whales. 
• Skuas and sheathbills also eat penguin eggs and chicks.
• Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere. 
• The greatest concentrations are on Antarctic coasts and sub-Antarctic islands.
• There are 18 species of penguins, 5 of which live in Antarctica. 
• Another 4 species live on sub-Antarctic islands.

Macaroni Penguin

King Penguin 

Finally here are two very new Australian books about penguins:

Nominations for the Kate Greenaway Medal

The book that wins the Kate Greenaway Medal should be a book that creates an outstanding reading experience through illustration. The whole work should provide pleasure from a stimulating and satisfying visual experience, which leaves a lasting impression. Illustrated work needs to be considered primarily in terms of its graphic elements, and where text exists, particular attention should be paid to the synergy between the two.

The 72 nominations for the Kate Greenaway Medal have been announced. The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal recognises a book that creates an outstanding reading experience through illustration.  Each nominated book is read by every member of the 2022 judging panel – which this year includes 13 children’s and youth librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group − who volunteer their time as judges. I am in awe of this because I am a judge here in Australia this year for our Children's Book Council awards (picture book category). We have three judges in our section and we have quite different views and perspectives about many of the books submitted. Fifteen judges just blows my mind - I do hope they meet in person - we have to ZOOM which adds to the complexity. You might also like to read the Greenaway criteria. And I found this splendid Library Mice post which expands on some of the glossary terms. 

Here a few of their many points that resonated with me. Do take a look at all the criteria these are just points I wanted to highlight:

The Visual Experience

• What is the overall impact of the book on the reader?  What role do the illustrations play within this?
• Do artistic and design choices* made throughout the book feel deliberate and considered and help to visually shape the narrative?
• Do the illustrations individually and cumulatively make a lasting impression on the reader?

The Artistic Style

• Is the style of the illustration fresh and creative?  Does the book contain elements of innovation, experimentation, imagination or playfulness?
• Do the illustrations mainly provide surface aesthetic beauty, or help to progress or enhance the narrative?

Visual Representation

• How is place represented? Does architecture, flora, fauna and clothing contribute to the establishment of this?

Synergy of Illustration and Text

• Do the illustrations enhance the impact of the text or could they be considered ‘pictorial upholstery’ and for decorative purposes only?

The Format

• Consider the use of the page layout (placement, gutters, blank space), in what ways do these contribute to or detract from the shaping of the visual narrative?
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The Kate Greenaway short list will be announced on Wednesday 16 March 2022 and the winners will be revealed on Thursday 16 June 2022.

Check out my previous post about the 2022 nominated books. 

Here are some others from the list that I would like to read:

The Long Way Home by Corrinne Averiss and Kristyna Litten

This is one of the saddest little junior books I have ever read BUT I am certain a child reading this sweet story will not have these feelings.  As adults we are now so aware of the ravages of dementia. Or course this book is about an elderly elephant grandmother who has some memory loss - it is not meant to be a deep book about dementia but my adult reaction was coloured by my experiences with this horrid disease. 

Otto and Nanu love to take adventures together. Little Nanu has been to Red Rock Cave and Blue Pool but today he is so excited because they will visit Lion Mountain. Nanu, his grandmother will lead the way. 

Publisher blurb Little Tiger: Nanu and Otto are off on a climbing adventure – to the top of Lion Mountain! Otto is a born explorer, just like his grandma, who is brave and bold and can’t resist the urge for adventure. But Nanu is having a forgetting day. She forgets her backpack and the name of the mountain … and then she forgets the way home and leads them deep into the forest. Can Otto remember all the things Nanu taught him about being a great elephant explorer and guide the expedition home?

This book comes from a series of simple chapter books published by Little Tiger. It has 85 pages, with an easy to read font and vibrant colour illustrations on every page. These little books are simply perfect and I highly recommend them for all Primary school libraries. Listen to an audio sample from page 16. 

I have previously talked about:

Little Bird Lost

Two Sides

And here are some others from Little Tiger that I am keen to read:

Companion read after you read The Long Way Home:

Up the Mountain

I talked about Corrinne Averiss in a previous post - My Pet Star. You can see some more art by Kristyna Litten here. 

I have previously talked about these two books illustrated by Kristyna Litten:

Ziggy and the Moonlight Show

Norton and Alpha

Meet the illustrator Kost Lavro from Ukraine

Кость Лавро

Kost Lavro likes to pay attention to detail in his drawings; he jokes that young audiences are one of the most demanding, because the little ones notice everything.

 If the drawing is done quickly, they will go through the pages quickly or worse, 

they will put the book aside. Quote from "I love Ukraine"

Kost Lavro (Konstantin Tikhonovich), 1961, was born in the Poltava region of Ukraine. He is considered one of the most striking and colourful graphic artists in the country, a practitioner of a unique, inimitable, and profound national style that combines the influences of the Ukrainian avant-garde of the 1920s and classic Ukrainian folk art.  Here is an interview with Kost (select translate to English). Make sure you take a look because this interview also contains a splendid little video where you can see Kost drawing a wonderful rabbit - the sketch that perhaps came before this full colour illustration.

Kost Lavo is one of 33 illustrators nominated for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award. 

From IBBY about the art of Kost Lavro: In all his books, he uses intense, saturated but soft colours and the graphics skilfully recreate the spirit of Ukrainian naive art – its stormy fairy tale-like imagination and good-humoured irony. The illustrations reflect not only the scenes of the plot, but also the feelings of the heroes, their experiences, thoughts and emotions.

Try this quiz about Ukrainian Folktales (select translate to English)

Image Source: ART ET FOLKLORE, POUR LES ENFANTS 

I love discovering illustrators who have their work honoured on stamps.  Here are some which feature art by Kost:

Take a look here to see more art by Kost Lavro. If you are like me you may not be very familiar with children's book illustrators from Ukraine. Read about eight of them here such as -  Anna Sarvira; Kost Lavro; Oksana Bula; Oksana Drachkovska; Vladyslav Yerko; and Polina Doroshenko. I have already talked about Stars and Poppy Seeds by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv on this blog. 

The five books submitted by Kost Lavro to the Hans Christian Andersen judges are: “Nich pered rizdvom” (The Night before Christmas, written by Mykola Gogol), “Ukrainska abetka”, “My ABC book” (both written by Ivan Malkovich), “Farbovaniy Iys” (Painted fox, written by Ivan Franko) and “Zhukrovyi Pivnyk” (Sugar Cockerel, written by Yuyiy Vynnychuk).

Here is a page from this book

I also discovered this cover by Kost of The BFG by Roald Dahl.