Biblio Reviews

I had been worried about Jerry Craft's New Kid (2019), a graphic novel chronicling seventh grader Jordan Banks's first year in a predominately white private school.  Brilliant in every way, I had felt like the book wasn't getting the attention it deserved. And so, it was with joy that I heard it won the 2020 Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Medal. Both awards are well-deserved, for New Kid is beautifully crafted (pun intended) and addresses serious topics with humanity and humor. Exploring the concept of identity--the factors that influence, change, and/or define it--my seventh graders were primed to fall in love with New Kid , too, once I recommended it for independent reading. By the time they finished the first chapter, my students were sold on the novel. This is because Jordan's personality and family were quickly and clearly established and presented in ways that my kids could relate. Jordan Banks is your regular, seventh grade boy trying to find his p...

Great book design can be said to achieve two things: they announce and brand themselves. Some become Jurassic Park level iconic, with the book's cover art replicated in their paperback and international editions, and even movie posters--if the book is successful enough to capture Hollywood's attention. They're the type of covers that you can't imagine being anything other than what they are, though I have liked another cover of  Educated  (2018) that I think also captures the essence of the story (not the one with a childhood photograph of Westover on a swing).  Below are a sampling of favorite book cover designs, along with my reflections of a few of them.              I hope that whoever was involved in the design of Shusterman's Arc of the Scythe  book series received an award. Everything about those book covers bring joy: the paper on which they're printed, the graphic but simple nature of the image, the typography, the co...

"Beautiful cover" is what I thought when I first saw Maika and Maritza Moulite's Dear Haiti, Love Alaine (2019) on the new books display at BN a few months ago. It certainly achieved its purpose: grabbed my attention, particularly because the particular red used reminded me of the hibiscus flowers I associate with Haiti. Having now read the book, the cover also does effectively capture the attitude of the 17-year old protagonist, Alaine Beauparlant: bold, sassy, and quick-witted. I generally like sassy and admire quick-wittedness, but something about Alaine just didn't work for me; I couldn't get lost in her characterization. Maybe it has to do with her voice: it just didn't ring true as a teenager's, even a well-educated middle-class one. In fact, the indistinguishable nature of all the characters' voices is this book's biggest flaw. The story is that of Alaine who, after a prank gone wrong during the presentation of her senior project, is ...

Illustrated with gorgeous autumnal-hued watercolors, Tanja Hiti-Stearns' A Tale of Two Tails  (2018) is a lovely picture book that relates the tale of Mr. Bits's conflict with a golden-haired tabby, Fred. Written in rhyming couplets and with rich vocabulary, the story is that of Mr. Bits whose plan to stock up for the winter by taking supplies stored in the tabby's home goes awry. Vowing to avenge his lost pride, Mr. Bits convenes a council of fellow chipmunks to enact their plan. Mr. Bits and crew succeed, and in doing so teach Fred a lesson about kindness. It is clear that a lot of thought and care went into the creation of A Tale of Two Tails , down to the font used, an element which really added to its appeal. In doing so, the book feels like a classic, evoking the old world charm captured in the Peter Rabbit books.  A Tale of Two Tails  brings comfort and is worthy of being added on one's bookshelf.

There's something to be said about book covers: Well done, they elevate the greatness of a book; poorly done, they intensify the disappointment in a not-so-great book. While there is wisdom in the adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," there's also the reality that first impressions matter. I have no degree and have never taken any courses on design, so I lack the technical language to describe why a design works or does not work for me. Still, I find myself examining and critiquing various aspect of design that converge into a good book cover: color, layout, typeface, artwork, creativity, and originality. My willingness to buy the e-reader vs. the physical or paperback vs. hardcover copy of a book is entirely dependent on the cover. There are some book covers that I appreciate as pure art and find them worthy of being framed and displayed. (e.g., Neil Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe  series).  For this reason, I love when a book's cover entices me, f...