No Place on Earth, by Andrea Beatriz Arango

  The fourth book by award-winning Puerto Rican author Andrea Beatriz Arango, and a nice start to celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. I don't think this is the first book I've read by her, but I'll have to go back and check past blog postings to be sure. 

    There is a lot to like about this story, but some things that made me twist my head just a little and wonder why. No Place on Earth is the story of Gus, who moves with his mom and sister from Puerto Rico to Yellowstone National Park - a world of difference and change! His dad stays behind as his parents try to fix their marriage from the two very different places. Gus already had anxiety, but his anxiety doesn't get any better in this new place, surrounded by wild animals and cold winters. 

    Gus makes a friend, of sorts, in Kordell, an equally unique teenager who is facing his own serious level of anxiety and depression. Kordell has learned how to create his own dreams as a place to feel safe between real, awake times of his life. Somehow, Gus drops into one of his dreams, and the story really takes off.

    This is not an elementary level book, in my opinion, if you couldn't tell from the brief description above. Arango is a good storyteller, but the themes in this book just felt too intense much of the time. Anxiety and depression are real things and truly affect people of all ages, and it's good to learn more about mental health through stories like this one, but I was surprised at how the themes were presented. Kordell, in particular, recorded his dreamscape thoughts in a poetic sort of way that made me want to just skip those parts after the first few. And Arango's use of both English and Spanish, which I usually really like, seemed to require a higher level of understanding of Spanish than I possess. I love to learn more of a language through bilingual stories like this one, but there were many lines and phrases that were just too far from what I know to be able to translate, so I feel I missed some of the story there as well.

    So, in short, a good story, but intense. Definitely not for elementary readers - maybe more like 7th grade and above. A strong dose of Spanish written in, and most not translated for the non-Spanish reading reader. I really want to find out if I've read Arango's earlier stories, because I think I have, and liked them! But this one wasn't my favorite...3 paws.

Felix Powell, Boy Squirrel, by Erin Entrada Kelly

     Author Erin Entrada Kelly is one of my favorite writers for upper elementary and middle school fiction, and her books always rely on science in some form for their plot, which I find fun and unique! Felix Powell, Boy Squirrel is more elementary focused, and the science element comes in the form of nature - specifically, animals in nature. Main character Felix has a special ability to talk to animals, and with the help of a magical blanket, he one day turns into a...squirrel! But how do you survive as a squirrel, and how can he turn back into a human boy?

    Kelly weaves various themes into this delightful book, such as facing your fears and friendship, and her writing is always solid (she is one of the only authors of kid's books to win the prestigious Newbery Award more than once!). It appears that she has recently written a second book where Felix Powell is the main protagonist (main character) - Felix Powell, Boy Dog - and I look forward to reading that one as well! Who doesn't like a good dog story, right? I enjoyed Boy Squirrel, and it made me want to go back and re-read some of her longer books, such as the 5 paw We Dream of Space. This book lands a solid 4 paws!

Amari and the Night Brothers, by B. B. Alston

     Amari has been on my reading radar for quite some time now, as I come across rave reviews of this book series pretty regularly. I was finally able to get my paws on a copy of book 1, Amari and the Night Brothers, and I was excited to jump in. Amari is a young Black girl living in a tough part of town. Her brother has gone missing some months ago, and Amari and her mom are trying to live their lives without knowing what happened to him or if they will ever see him again. Then Amari receives a message from her brother to join a secret society of people fighting against ghosts, spirits, and many other non-human creatures. Does this mean Quinton, her brother, is still alive? And supernatural beings?!? What could that mean? It turns out, Amari has more in common with her missing brother than she thought, and she decides she needs to join this group to help find out what happened to him.

    B. B. Alston has created this other world of wonderful and sometimes scary creatures, with 13-year-old Amari being the main character - or protagonist - of the series. I believe the series will eventually be five books long, and book four has just been released, but I have only read this book, the first in the series, so far. This is definitely fantasy story telling, and I couldn't help but imagine the movie all the way through (perhaps it's a movie already, but I don't know...the book is always better!).

     If Hermione Granger from Harry Potter (smart, brave) met Holly Short from Artemis Fowl (smart, brave), with a storyline or background written by Sharon Flake or Jaquelyn Woodson you would have a good idea of what this book is like!  I enjoyed it, but having this feeling that Alston was trying to write a book that will quickly become a movie took just a little bit of my enjoyment away. I couldn't commit to a full 5 paws for this one, although a strong Black girl lead character is not as common as it should be (yet!), and I appreciate Alston creating Amari. But the movie thing bothered me a little, so 4 paws and a wag will hopefully convince any of you fantasy fans to still give this a try! Probably best for 4th graders or older, but if you read Harry Potter you would be okay with this long book as well.

Can Bears Ski? by Raymond Antrobus & Polly Dunbar

     This is one of several books my human purchased for the school library this year as he begins a new year at a new school, really wanting to emphasize kindness - something this world can always use more of, right? Can Bears Ski? tells the tender story of a young bear who thinks everyone around him is asking him if bears can ski? The more he hears that question, the more odd that question sounds - of course bears cannot ski! But doesn't everyone know that? Apparently not, but little bear keeps trying to understand the question anyway. Finally, his life changes when he realizes what people are really asking him, and why he wasn't hearing the real question all along!

    This is a wonderful picture book with a kind message. It reminds me of how books can be windows into other people's (or bears!) lives, or a mirror that reflects something about us that we might find in a story. For me, Can Bears Ski? is a window, and a useful one, as my human experiences the world the way little bear does in this book. For my human, this book is a mirror, and a wonderful way to share how he is different than some other people. Every creature in the world is unique in some ways, and the more we celebrate that, the kinder our world becomes! 4 paws!