Notable Books

After a severe bout of spinal meningitis at the age of 4, Bell lost her hearing—a story she tells in this graphic novel. The first few pages, which show the little girl’s ability to hear gradually declining, are especially poignant, but Cece is still a normal kid, with all the sparks, quirks, gifts, hesitations, joys, and anxieties of normal kid-hood. In school, her “phonic ear” enables her to hear her teachers—even when they’re in the bathroom! “El Deafo,” with secret auditory powers, is born. A delightful and encouraging memoir.

(2015 Newbery Honor Book)

Brown Girl Dreaming

Respected children’s author Woodson recalls her South Carolina childhood in this moving verse memoir. After her parents’ separation, her mother moved the family south, where Jacqueline developed a close relationship with her grandfather and attended her grandmother’s Jehovah’s Witnesses church. Later the children come under the spell of Islam from their Uncle Robert, a jailhouse convert. Although the Black Power movement looms larger after the family moves to New York City, racial tensions take a backseat to the girl’s growing awareness of her desire to write—so I’ll be able to hold on to / each moment, each memory / everything.

(2015 Newbery Honor Book)

The Family Romanov

Fleming tells the story of the collapse of the Russian Empire primarily through the relationship of Czar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their five children—history as biography, where the times shape the people but people also shape the times. Gregory Rasputin, the corrupt and passionate monk, and Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), the cold revolutionary, played vital roles. Fleming’s style is simple without being simplified. She gives ample scope to the crying need for reform in Czarist Russia but shows how Communism was even worse, its ruthlessness prefigured in the fate of the royal family. Though sad, this is history worth knowing.

(2015 YALSA Award for outstanding nonfiction)

The Right Word

From the age of 8, Peter Mark Roget began listing words. Words were powerful things. And when he put them in long, neat rows, he felt as if the world itself clicked into order. Roget’s lifelong quest for “the right word,” even while pursuing careers as a doctor, lecturer, and amateur scientist, is the reason we know him today. Author Bryant and illustrator Sweet integrate words and pictures beautifully, with references to the original thesaurus (Greek for “treasure house”) and informative notes at the end. Roget lived a long and productive life, which makes for a surprising and inspiring story.

(2015 Caldecott Honor and the Sibert Award for nonfiction)

Spotlight

The student hymnal Hosanna, Loud Hosannas (self-published by Barbara and David Leeman, 2014) is much more than a hymnal. Each of the carefully selected hymns includes biographical information about the author, notes about the music, and deeper exploration into the theology expressed in the hymn. Most of the 115 selections are traditional, dating from before the 20th century. The authors explain that these songs have stood the test of time and will enrich future generations, but about a quarter are more recent. The beautifully produced book with vivid art reproductions has three sections: “The Church Year” (Advent through Pentecost), “God Is” (theology), and “We Respond” (songs of praise, petition, etc.). —J.C.