libscote's Reviews (6.4k)

I think this story will be a hit--vehicles, easy to read, and cute frogs.

A book that informs people of a time when noodles were delivered by BICYCLE in Tokyo. Amazing!

I honestly didn't know a lot about Baldwin before this book. I think it's a good introduction to this man, appropriate for children but still giving the ups and downs of his life. 

A beautifully illustrated overview of Hawaiian culture. 

I don't know who thought of telling a story about a retired school model skeleton, but I love this story about John, who is adopted in retirement by an elderly couple who include him in their lives. Beautiful and a little weird, like the best books. 

I feel like I didn't really get this book. I feel like I would have enjoyed it more had I been more familiar with the Cthulhu mythos.  

Most people have given up their hearts, so they won't feel pain any more. Of course, they won't feel joy either. Anything at all, really. But one brave teen refuses to give up her heart, which may be the thing that saves humanity in the end. A thought-provoking book about the power of emotion, especially in a world that pressures you to feel nothing at all. 

Beautiful illustrations, but it feels weird to read books by a known TERF. It definitely lessened my enjoyment. 

It's a brutally cold winter in 1880s Sweden, Mika is at an orphanage trying her best to keep herself and everyone else there alive. A mysterious killer named the Night Raven is on the loose, and Mika gets herself involved in the case. Can she help stop the killer with her observational skills? As an adult I didn't find the situation completely believable, but as a kid this book keeps on the edge of your seat.

 Yu’er and her grandpa living in a neighborhood called a hutong in Beijing, China. Throughout these four stories, you get a sense of their life and what living in Beijing might be like. Each of these stories has a sense of the magical about it, like when Yu’er is training for the Special Olympics in swimming and ends up flying. My favorite story is the last one, in which a grumpy painter slowly comes out of his shell after bonding with Yu’er about art. Jun’s illustrations are somewhere between an American cartoon style and manga and are a joy to look at. I especially enjoyed seeing when the eyes changed from full view to hidden, and I smiled every time Yu’er’s grandpa was on the page. This book was also a Batchelder Honor in 2019.