The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Lowen draws cartoons. With a lot of practice he has become very skilled. He and his family live in a city apartment building. Across the hall lives a younger boy called Abe.  Abe likes to visit Lowen and watch him draw. Abe always has lots of questions and comments and suggestions but often Lowen just wants to get on with his work - alone! Lowen knows Abe loves twizzlers. Lowen gives Abe some money and tells him to go to the store and buy some. Abe is gone for a long time then Lowen's mum arrives with the utterly shocking news that Abe has been shot and killed.

Lowen is wracked with grief. He sees an advertisement for one dollar houses in a little town called Millville. The town are selling five rundown houses for one dollar each as a way to boost their falling school enrollments and as a way to add players to the various sport teams in the town.

"It seemed like a way out. If they moved, he wouldn't have to walk past the Siskins' door every day. He would no longer be tricked into thinking that Abe was going to pop out at any minute. He would no longer have to hear Mrs Siskin crying."

Dad is keen to move because he is training to be a doctor and wants to help people in less affluent areas. Mum is keen to move because she has a dream of opening a restaurant to sell Cornish pasties. Clem is open to the idea of moving because he loves sports and he thinks in this small town he can rise to be a star. Anneth, Lowen's sister, does not want to move. She will miss her friends and shops and social life.

The family make the move knowing there are conditions. After all how can a house only cost one dollar? How will the community receive them? Will Lowen ever recover? Can he take a risk and make new friends?

The house:

"The kitchen cabinets had doors, but they were ill-fitting, crooked. Two of the cupboard doors had come off ... the floor was a patchwork of bare wood and linoleum. ... They passed through the dining room, which had water spots on the ceiling and floor ... the bathroom had black grunge growing on the walls, and several of the shower tiles had fallen off."

The town:

"What was the word Lowen was looking for? Downtroddenness. Former stores and businesses were boarded up. And even those still in business ... were all in desperate need of paint. The spotty patches of grass in front of the stores needed mowing; the garbage needed picking up."

The mill:

"This spot afforded them the best view of the mill, or what used to be a mill. Here again, what had looked so proud and shiny on the website now looked decrepit. It was an enormous tangle of boxy structures, pipes, and vaporless smokestacks - a breathless giant."

Early one evening this week I picked up The Dollar Kids intending to read a chapter or two. I ended up reading late into the night and then I finished the whole book (400 pages) by mid morning.  This book engulfed me.

Here is an example of the graphic novel  pages by Ryan Andrews which appear in this book. I hesitate to call it a graphic novel because less than 20 pages use this format.

Jacobson insightfully examines the dynamics of small-town life and strategies for revitalization as well as the landscape of Lowen’s complex grief and survivor’s guilt. The story incorporates Lowen’s graphic-novel panels contemplating his feelings about his deceased friend, Abe,whom he calls “the unseen force,” …  A rich, thoughtful exploration of individual and community resilience. Kirkus

Jacobson manages to tell an excellently nuanced story of all sorts of after-lives—after death, after failure, after loss, afterwards.Bulletin of the Centre for Children’s Books

This was a great look at a different type of life that will be new and informative for many readers. The Grovers are struggling financially, although they were doing okay in the city. The family bonding because of the move was interesting, and the reality of setting up a restaurant was fun to read. The reaction of the townspeople was also intriguing, and the story moved at a decent pace. … the story of small town life is such a fantastic one that I can't wait to hand it to my readers. Ms Yingling

If I haven't convinced you to READ THIS BOOK! then take a look at this personal insight by Jennifer on the Nerdy Book Club page.

Listen to an audio sample here.  I loved a previous book by Jennifer Richard Jacobson - Paper Things.

I would follow The Dollar Kids with Each Little bird that Sings.

The Terribly Friendly Fox by Susannah Lloyd and Ellie Snowdon

Take a minute to look at the cover illustration and title.  Terribly, terrible? Can a fox be friendly especially when it's the evening of the Annual Woodland Creatures Ball. The Fox named The Wiley Fox claims he is a reformed character. He has adopted a new name - Gerald and he tells his host he is now a vegetarian.

This book contains a dual narrative.  You can read the words such as "Gerald turned out to be the life and soul of the party .. and boy, that fox could sing!"

Now check out the party guests.  There are five hens in the foyer of the house and five empty seats later at the dinner table. When the host mouse clears the table he finds two delicious puddings have been left uneaten. Playing a game of musical chairs for some reason it seems there are too many chairs. As you turn each page the crowd of happy party goers is shrinking. By the time the dancing starts there are only nine guests left out of twenty-four. Then we watch the conga line shrink - seven then six. Finally only our host is left.

"But how rude I was. ... I almost forgot to offer Gerald one of our little nibbles. He said not to worry, the other guests had been keeping him well-fed. In fact, he was a trifle full ... "

By the end of the party the guests have all "disappeared" and the exhausted host mouse heads off to bed. Gerald meanwhile lies trapped under fallen party decorations and the heavy chandelier.

Is there a happy ending? Perhaps yes if you imagine the guests might escape from inside the fox or perhaps no!

The Terribly Friendly Fox is a delightfully dark tale which is sure to make you laugh! My Book Corner

Dark humour can be a tricky balance sometimes in children’s books. Roald Dahl was the master at it and Susanna Lloyd has, in this story given us something that harks back to that, with a touch of Brothers Grimm thrown in too. David Ballard Picture Books

Susannah Lloyd has some activities for The Terribly Friendly Fox on her web site. You can see some of the charming illustrations from this book on Ellie Snowdon's web site.

Small Mercies by Bridget Krone

"Once when Gandhi stepped off a train in India, his sandal fell between the train and the platform and he couldn't get it back. So he took off his other sandal and threw it down too. When people asked him why he did that, he explained that one sandal was no use to anyone. It was better that someone finds two sandals on the track than just one. This taught me to look at problems with new eyes."

This is a deeply personal story. Mercy lives with her two elderly foster aunts in the South African town of Pietermaritzburg. Mercy's life seems to be on a precipice. She is fearful that the "authorities" will discover the poverty and difficulties of her home. She finds the demands of her teacher overwhelming.

Aunt Mary declares they will need to take in a lodger. Mr Singh arrives with his stories of Mohandas. Mercy discovers this is actually Mahatma Gandhi. Mercy has a school assignment where she has to talk about a role model - some one who inspires her. Perhaps Mercy can share some of Mr Singh's stories in her talk.

Meanwhile a nasty developer has arrived on the scene. He has plans to knock down their house and clear the empty land next door. The house is very old and it seems to be falling apart. Aunt Flora is also falling apart - she has Alzheimers. Aunt Mary explains to Mercy:

"it's as if her roads are blocked. Some of the roads in her brain have closed. Some streets have become one-ways, some roads that used to be busy motorways are now cul-de-sacs. There are lots of pot-holes and dead ends... so her thoughts can't get through like they used to."

Have you ever noticed the way authors use shoes as a way to explain poverty. Often a character will have shoes that are way too small and, as readers, we feel the pain of every step and the despair that money is too short for new or even second hand replacements.  In Small Mercies Bridget Krone also uses shoes as a way to let us know things are tough for Mercy.

"Mercy had to walk fast to keep up. She was wearing flip-flops that were too big for her and they made an embarrassing slap on the tiles of the shopping centre floor." Later when Mr Singh takes Mercy to visit a statue commemorating Gandhi she develops very painful blisters from her flip-flops and the long journey is grueling.

Here are some other signposts of the family poverty:

"Aunt Mary cutting the crusts off with the broken bread knife and Aunt Flora fussing ... and then wrapping the Marmite sandwich up tightly in an old bread bag. There was a time when they'd wrapped sandwiches in wax paper, but these days they recycled everything possible: even tea bags, after their fourth or fifth dunking in boiling water, were put on the veranda to dry and then soaked in parafin to be used as firelighters in the winter."

"She didn't have a phone, and the TV set, before it got sold at the auction, had lived in the corner of the dining room on a trolley, covered with a green velvet cloth fringes with pom poms."

Mercy is so afraid of a visit by the social worker that she has memorised some words to at least postpone her removal by the authorities:

"According to the Children's Act of 2010, each child has the right to legal representation and I demand that the order be held pending this process."

This is book I HIGHLY recommend. I know that this story will linger with me for a long time. It is an example of carefully crafted storytelling. In my head I talked to Bridget Krone as I was reading this book hoping she could help Mercy. I was especially worried when Mercy misunderstood a conversation she overhears which is actually about Aunt flora needing to go into aged care. Mercy thinks Aunt Mary is planning to send her to a children's home. The resolution of this in Chapter 28 made me sigh with relief. I also want to thank Bridget for her character Mr Singh who offers quiet wisdom to Mercy and who is also able to produce delicious food exactly when it is needed.

Read this review for more plot details:

The short chapters are a nice treat for the reading level,particularly since the themes have a depth to them that take some reflecting.Krone notes that her “favorite stories are those that, just when you expect a lesson, sing a song instead.” Small Mercies is just that surprising song, full of light and sweetness. Readers will carry the melody in their hearts long after the last page is turned. NY Journal of Books

Sensitive, funny, and tender. Kirkus

Small Mercies (published in 2020) is a book from South Africa.  Here is the US cover.  Which do you prefer? I was excited to read the review by Ms Yingling.

I would pair small Mercies with The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson and these titles:

Pictures of Hollis Woods

When Friendship followed me Home

Missing May

Speechless

I think adults would enjoy Small Mercies. It made me think of these two adult novels:

Louis I King of the Sheep Olivier Tallec

Louis finds a crown and declares he is the king! On the title page he appears in his ermine cape with a scepter (tree branch). He sits on his throne (low fork of a tree) and observes his subjects. He dispenses justice, makes speeches, and goes hunting. King Louis I decides he should hunt lions but "since there were no lions in his kingdom, he would have them brought to him for his pleasure." 

Echoing Louis XIV of France,  Louis I lives in a grand place and his worker sheep tend his magnificent royal gardens which contain statues of Louis I and topiary forms in his image. He even meets with ambassadors from other lands (moose, penguin, tapir and raccoon). Louis I has now become a dictator - he orders his people to march behind him "in sheep step".

Then we come to the most chilling page of all:

"Next, Louis I decided that only the sheep who resembled him could live at his side. The others must be driven out."

Thank goodness at this point it is another windy day and his crown blows away. Oh no wait til you see where in lands!

The publisher and most reviewers list this as a picture book for young children but I think the audience that will really appreciate the power and leadership commentary afforded by the story should be much older children in senior classes aged 10+. Louis I King of the Sheep was originally published in French (2014 English Edition 2015 Enchanted Lion Books).  I looked for some teaching notes - I am sure there would be some produced in French.  Read more about Olivier Tallec here. You could also use this book with High School students - read the review below from Brain Pickings below which mentions deeper themes such as The Holocaust.

Tallec leaves it up to readers to decide how much of Louis’power trip is imaginary, giving them plenty of details to pore over while they muse.  It’s a political education—Schoolyard Politics 101—in a picture book, one well worth having on the bookshelf. Kirkus

As Louis I rises to power by nothing more than chance, he gradually transmogrifies into an entitled and arrogant tyrant. BrainPickings

Difficult to find sweeter and more tender than a sheep, you think. And yet! Give a little bit of power (or illusion of power) to one of these harmless beings, and you will see what will happen: authoritarianism, tyranny, segregation ... Fortunately, it is always possible to get rid of a leader, but will the one that follows necessarily be better? Actua Litte

I would pair Louis I King of the sheep with these books:

The Marvellous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty by Beatrice Alemagna

Edith (Eddie) is determined to find the right birthday present for her mum. She over hears some words - fluffy, squishy, itty and bitty.  Armed with this knowledge she sets off into town.  The friendly shop keepers supply her with curious things, which is wonderful, but none are quite right. Here is a list of the things she collects:

Baker - warm sticky bun
Florist - four leaf clover
Fashion shop - pearl button
Antique shop - a rare stamp

It starts to snow so Eddie huddles under an awning. Luckily she looks up. On the roof she spies an adorable creature. "Not very tasty, not very stylish, but fluffy, squishy, strange and rare. It was a real Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty, the perfect present and useful for so many things!"

Now how can she retrieve this little creature.  Remember all of those things she collected earlier?  One reviewer describes this as a treasure hunt.  Then we discover each has a role to play in a simply delightful way.

This is a story with two halves which fit neatly together. The illustrations are filled with joy and colour. Eddie is a resourceful, polite and happy girl who makes some wonderful discoveries about the "marvellous" people in her town. Kirkus use the word "effervescent" and that seems perfect!

I have included the French, UK and USA covers above.  As I have mentioned previously I am again puzzled as to why the US market needed to change the title and the font.  The Marvellous Squishy Itty Bitty (under the title The wonderful fluffy little squishy) won the 2016 Mildred L Batchelder award. Take a look at Playing by the Book where you can see some ideas for using this book in your family and view the delightful Thames and Hudson book trailer. In this post Beatrice talks about writing and illustrating her book. Here is the web site for Beatrice Alemagna where you can see her other books.

There is so much to delight and discover in The Marvellous Fluffy Squishy Itty Bitty that it’s hard to know where to start: the tongue-twisting title, the Paris streets and old shops windows crammed with things everyday things, the eye-popping pink highlights…Here is a classic picture book that readers from three and up will read again and again with delight. French Picture Books in English

Little home Bird by Jo Empson

Little Bird loves his home. He has the perfect branch, delicious food, his view and beneath his branch there are set of wind chimes providing him with his favourite music. When the weather changes Little Bird's brother explains it is time to move to their other home.  The birds need to fly south for the winter. Little Bird does not want to leave his branch (take a look at the notice carved into the branch which you can see on the front cover above), his food or his music behind so he thinks up a clever way to take everything with him on the journey.  But it is hard to fly and to keep up with the flock and the flight is so long. He drops his branch and it is picked up by a happy dog. He drops the wind chimes which are found by a shepherd gathering his sheep on a snow covered mountain.  He drops his berries and they land on the spikes of a porcupine.  Eventually the flock reach their summer home. Little Bird has managed to bring his nest and while it is empty it is soon filled with wonderful things making this new place feel just like home.

On page six of this book there are some magical words and when I read them I knew I had fallen in love with this book:

"It's time to fly south to our winter home, where the food is plenty and the wind's breath is warm"

Then I stopped to look at the exquisite illustrations. I just want to reach out and stoke those feathers.

Here in an interview with Jo Empson.

Simply lovely. Kirkus

Jo Empson has created a really endearingcharacter, we feel Little Bird’s sense of indecision when he has to leave his home,his sense of loss when his favourite things have gone and we share his joy whenhis nest is no longer empty. Story Snug

I would pair this book with Lucy Goosey.

Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell-Boyce illustrated by Steven Lenton

Alfie has an artificial hand. We don't know what has happened but now he has to attend a special school called Limb Lab where he is learning to use his Osprey Grip MM.  Alfie has no friends among his classmates, in fact one girl acts like his enemy, and he is finding the exercises designed to make the responses of his hand feel normal are difficult, annoying and frustrating. Limb Lab and Alfie's home are near an airport. Alfie has decided it is better to spend his days wandering around arrivals and departures and avoid both schools. His mum is too busy to notice what he is doing. Alfie knows she will assume he is at Limb Lab and the director of Limb Lab - Dr Shilling - assumes he is at his regular school.

The airport is not quite the perfect place to blend in, though, because Alfie is not going anywhere nor is he meeting someone who is arriving. The cafe lady becomes suspicious and grabs hold of Alfie. She grabs his hand (nicked named Lefty - it is his right hand) and his hand falls off. Alfie escapes but now his hand is missing and this is how he finds himself in the airport lost property office.

Sitting on a shelf in lost property is a huge robot called Eric.

"Eric is six foot six.
He like to sing.
He's super polite.
He does as he's told.
He's made of metal. ...
Eric tends to take things literally."

Eric and Alfie become friends. Eric is a gentle giant but others think he is dangerous. Alfie wants to help Eric. He finds a scooter which Eric can use in place of his missing his leg. It is wonderful the way Alfie is able to understand Eric's simple mind.  Eric's jokes are not funny and he keeps saying (in capital letters) I AM YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT. MY NAME IS ERIC I AM LOST, but he can make a terrific cup of tea.

This book is a mad cap adventure with heaps of action but also with an underlying level of poignancy as we race to sort out Eric's identity and discover the truth about how Alfie lost his hand and why he has no memory of his accident.

There are some inventive and futuristic ideas in this book. Buses without drivers, houses that use iris recognition to welcome you home and open your front door, hedgehog-like cleaning robots who deliver messages and update you on the news and Alfie's own bionic hand which contains tools of all kinds including a GPS tracker. Click each of these review quotes for more plot details if I have not yet convinced you this is a BRILLIANT book!

Make sure when you read this book you take a look at page 91 where there is a tiny illustration error. Here is an audio sample from Chapter One.

Cottrell-Boyce writes with confidence and flair, spillinghis story into the reader’s head with artistry and comedy, so that readers areequally amused and enthralled, but also touched with a large brush of heart. Hehas a keen eye for human quirks, and seeing them play out both robotically aswell as in humans, is rather fun. Minerva Reads

Although Alfie’s world is full of robots, his story is essentially about what it means to be human and all the mistakes, mess and vulnerability that go along with it. As with Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s other books, a comical façade drives a crazy plot but just below the surface is a poignant and touching human story. Hilarious, complex and hugely satisfying.Book Trust

Beautifully told and full of characters readers will love, this book will have you laughing out loud one minute, in tears the next. Robot Eric, unfailingly polite, kind and helpful and trying to explain himself through misremembered jokes is an iron man for our time. Unmissable. LoveReading4Kids

I am a huge fan of books about robots. Here are some I have read recently.

Monstrous Devices

Boot Book One; Boot Book Two

The Wild Robot

Tin

Steven Lenton has a terrific body of work including a number of book covers for Frank Cotrell-Boyce and the series Shifty McGifty and Slipery Sam.