Along the Tapajós

Vilela, Fernando. Along the Tapajós. Translated by Daniel Hahn. s.l.: Amazon Crossing, 2019.

I enjoyed this story about persons living along the Tapajós River system who must move when the rainy season arrives each winter. In this story, they forget their pet turtle, and the children sneak out one night to retrieve the turtle from the now flooded village. They encounter an anaconda. The illustrations were okay but not outstanding.

Wilhelm's Journey

Bar, Anke. Wilhelm's Journey: An Emigration Story. New York: NorthSouth Books, 2019.


Wilhelm grew up in farming family, but he wanted to become a woodcarver. He learns the trade from a man who teaches him to read. He finds literature describing America and wants to move there because land and opportunity to own a shop do not exist in Germany. He sketched aboard the ship. The book describes his voyage. At the book's end, we learn Wilhelm only remained in America long enough to earn money to return to Germany and own his own business. The illustrations are appropriate for young readers. The book presented an even-handed treatment of immigration to the United States. I received an advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

The Artist Who Loved Cats

Bernardo, Susan S. The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen. Illustrated by Courtenay Fletcher. Los Angeles: Inner Flower Child Books, 2019.

Telling the story of Theophile Alexandre Steinlen, the artist famous for his Chat Noir cat illustrations, this picture book will please young readers who love cats. A young girl sees a bronze cat in a shop, enters, and hears the story from the shop owner (and from the cat). I enjoyed the illustrations. A little more biographical information is presented after the main part of the picture book. I received an advance copy through NetGalley with the expectation I would write an honest review.

Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes

Ondaatje, Griffin and Linda Wolfsgruber. Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes. New York: NorthSouth Books, 2019.

While most of the raccoons learned it is best to leave the garbage on the other side of the river alone, Muddy braves it each night. The other raccoons fear it will get him into big trouble. One day he crosses the river, goes into the restaurant, steals a plate, and pushes it across the river, heaping the plate with others he's stolen. The other raccoons help him wash the dishes and return all the plates, clearing the restaurant in the process. This book, first published in Switzerland, offers nice illustrations, but the story may not resonate with some readers.I received an advance electronic copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Taco Stand

Vasquez, Tim S. The Taco Stand. Illustrated by  Linda Kay Ost. Gilbert, Arizona: Toodaloo Publishing Company, 2019.

Isabel enjoys preparing food for her family. She even makes extra tacos her children can sell to passers-by on the street. One day a man in a business suit visits the taco stand, making Isabel a business proposal. Will she take him up on the offer or choose to spend time with her family? I loved the message the book conveyed. Money cannot buy happiness. The illustrations were colorful, fitting the book. The book contains a glossary of Mexican food terms. I received an electronic copy from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

A Day in the Life of a Raindrop

Dunn, Stephen D. A Day in the Life of a Raindrop. Illustrated by Dejah Moore. n.p.: n.p., 2018.

A cute book rhyming book showing a raindrop's contemplation as it goes through the day. Unfortunately some of the rhymes took incorrect forms of words in an attempt to make the rhyme fit. Illustrations were okay but not spectacular. I received an electronic copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jingle Bells

Pierpont, James. Jingle Bells. Illustrated by Jade Goegebuer. n.p.: Xist Publishing, 2018.

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but unfortunately the formatting was so terrible the book was unreadable. You could only make out parts of a few words. Illustrations seen were mediocre.

Little White Fish and the Beautiful Sea

Genechten, Guido Van. Little White Fish and the Beautiful Sea. New York: Clavis, 2018.

Octopus asks Little White Fish what is the most beautiful thing in the sea. Before Little White Fish answers, the other marine animals answer. Little White Fish's answer, of course, steals the show! The illustrations are beautifully drawn. It's certain to please young readers. I received an electronic copy through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

Alycat and the Friendship Friday

Bourque, Alysson Foti. Alycat and the Friendship Friday. Illustrated by Chiara Civati. Herndon, VA: Mascot Books, 2018.

Alycat's class will visit a doctor's office. A new student arrives. When Alycat's friend offers to let the new student sit with her on the bus, Alycat feels left out until she comes up with a way to include all three of them. Illustrations and text are mediocre. The book does provide instructions for making the friendship bracelets Alycat designed. I received an electronic copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

How to Catch a Bear Who Loves to Read

Katz, Andrew and Juliana Léveillé-Trudel. How to Catch a Bear Who Loves to Read. Illustrated by Joseph Sherman. Montreal, Quebec: CrackBoom! Books, 2018.

Julia lives next to the forest and befriended many of the animals, but there is one animal she really wants to meet--a bear. She tries to attract them, but efforts fail. One day while she is reading a book about a bear and surrounded by her forest friends, her mom calls her to lunch. When she returns, she finds her book gone with a trail of blueberry-covered footprints leaving the area. What will Julia find? This is a cute book which encourages reading. The illustrations, while not Caldecott-worthy, are colorful enough to keep non-reading children interested as an adult reads aloud. I spotted this in the "Read Now" section at NetGalley and downloaded it in exchange for an honest review.

Silent Night by Lara Hawthorne

Hawthorne, Lara. Silent Night. London: Lincoln's Children Books, 2018.

I loved the illustrations in this picture book illustrated the beloved Christmas carol. While Mary and Joseph look more African than Jewish, the illustrations are charming, reflecting the peace of Christmas.  I would eventually like to purchase my own copy, but for now I'll keep this one until it expires so I may enjoy it for this Christmas season. This was a "read now" title at NetGalley. I downloaded it with the expectation of writing an honest review. I would eventually like to purchase my own copy, but for now I'll keep this one until it expires so I may enjoy it for this Christmas season.

Goodnight, Anne

George, Kallie. Goodnight, Anne. Illustrated by Geneviève Godbout. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2018.

This picture book captures the whimsical nature of the original book and of the character Anne Shirley as she says good night to all the people and places we love in Anne of Green Gables. Both the text and illustrations were excellent. I'm not sure young readers unfamiliar with the main story will understand all the references, but lovers of the series will love this one. I received an advance reading copy through NetGalley with an unbiased review expected.

A Boy and a House

Kastelic, Maja. A Boy and a House. Toronto: Annick Press, 2018.

This wordless picture book by Slovenian author Maja Kastelic features a boy following a cat into and then through an old house. Along the way, he finds drawings scattered about rooms. The rooms are filled with "vintage" items. He finds a surprise awaiting in the attic. Although the book contains no words, it will certainly produce a lot of discussion for children who will be curious about what is contained in the picture. I believe the pictures were created with watercolors, but they are fairly "drab", probably in an effort to invoke the "old house feel." Just the thought of an unsupervised boy of this age will make many parents and other adults cringe, but others will view it as a product of another culture or as historic. I downloaded this "Read Now" title from NetGalley with the expectation I would write an honest review.

ACL 2007 Workshops

LibraryThing was down when the workshops for it were scheduled. I felt sorry for the presenter who had to rely on PowerPoint backup, but at least he had that! They were having a bookcover pile contest while it was down. We considered having a pile of librarians who were trying to access librarians while it was down and submitting that, but we didn't!

One of my colleagues and myself have talked several times about the workshop that showed how one library is using Facebook to reach its students where they are. I believe that we'll all be talking about how we can utilize Web 2.0 technologies to reach students in the coming academic year.

Another very interesting workshop was the one on customized toolbars which allow one to search things such as the library's online catalog, databases, and citation style guides. I'm already trying to figure out what we would need to include on one for our students. The presenters did tell us that it took time to develop them because of the code involved, but it is so useful that it will be worth the time.

I went to two cataloging workshops--one on authority control and one on metadata. I was very pleased with the direction the authority control presenter took. She approached it from the how it is changing and is likely to change perspective rather than it being a "how to" workshop. I know there were some in attendance who were looking for something a bit more hands-on, but having experience in the area, I was grateful for a more futuristic approach. The metadata was a good review for me of some of the skills that I'd been taught at a workshop back in about 2000. I really had not utilized this except in one digitization project since that time, and it was helpful to see the core elements of metadata for libraries once again.

The picture book update was great! This is the workshop where we get to pass around a lot of picture books which came out in the previous year. It's always interesting.