Jun 28 2023
with illustrations by Keenon Ferrell and Mark Buckingham (yes, THAT Mark Buckingham!) Tunde has always felt a little out of place in his primarily white school district. While his Black adoptive parents Ron and Ruth have been nothing but loving and kind, it’s hard being the beaky-nosed Black nerd who’s an easy butt of jokes, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/28/the-boy-with-wings-by-lenny-henry/
Jun 22 2023
I pretty much live in comfy, faux-fur-lined, water-resistant boots from the first really cold night of autumn till spring warms up enough that I can venture out in sneakers. So I was really excited to pick up this look at all the ways boots are worn in one of their most practical settings: on a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/22/farm-boots-by-lisl-h-detlefsen-renee-kurilla/
Jun 09 2023
Do y’all have any books that you immediately whip out when you want to soothe your young readers? Maybe your kid is having a bad day and just needs some cheerful illustrations and easy text to take their mind off things. Or maybe you want to sneakily show them how sometimes the best way to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/09/owl-and-penguin-best-day-ever-by-vikram-madan/
Jun 01 2023
with terrific wildlife illustrations by Pedro Julio Gonzalez. If your kid ever goes through a hyperfixation stage on bears, then this is absolutely the book to get them. Chock-full of fun facts and interesting data, this slender volume is the perfect gift for any kid who wants to know more about the omnivorous mammal. Presented …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/01/kids-ask-about-bears-by-christopher-nicholas/
May 23 2023
Oh gosh, I immediately fell in love with the beautiful colors of this whimsical comic book even before I began to enjoy the fun story it tells. The art feels very cartoony in a modern way — I wish I was more cognizant of current trends in animation so I could explain it better, but …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/05/23/peculiar-woods-the-ancient-underwater-city-by-andres-j-colmenares/
May 17 2023
with fun retro gaming illustrations by Alexis Jauregui. Oh, my heart! This second book in a series about middle school girl gamers just hit me so hard in the feels that I’ll even forgive the (admittedly appropriate) cliffhanger ending. It’s been a few weeks since Nat came out to her middle school best friends as …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/05/17/gamer-girls-monster-village-by-andrea-towers/
May 09 2023
What a delightful first graphic novel for young readers! As I’ve discussed elsewhere on this site, how can the discerning reader tell the difference between picture book and graphic novel? This volume falls firmly in that latter category, perhaps due to the more formal nature of having multiple panels on each page as opposed to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/05/09/mossy-and-tweed-crazy-for-coconuts-by-mirka-hokkanen/
Apr 28 2023
I was recently sent both of these delightful children’s books (one of them signed by the author, too!) and thought I’d do an appreciation post/review of both in one entry. I Did It! was written first, and is probably my favorite of the two. Our unisuited protagonist is trying with the help of their friends …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/28/i-did-it-and-lets-go-by-michael-emberley/
Apr 20 2023
This heartwarming children’s book is being marketed as a graphic novel but feels very much like a picture book to me. That said, both formats are good? Especially when the story and art are both so strong. Our title characters are best friends. Otis is a long-haired guinea pig while Peanut is a naked mole …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/20/otis-peanut-by-naseem-hrab-kelly-collier/
Apr 19 2023
As someone who has spent a patently absurd amount of time playing Legend Of The Five Rings, a role-playing game heavily inspired by Far Eastern cultures, it’s always fascinating to me to see how lacking my knowledge of Japan actually is. Books like this one gently correct my misperceptions, in the most interesting way possible. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/19/magical-history-tour-vol-12-the-samurai-by-fabrice-erre-sylvain-savoia/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire