Post-It Note Reviews: Quick looks at 9 new titles - Teen Librarian Toolbox

One last round of quick reviews before we head into 2023!

Post-it Note Reviews are a great way to display books in your library or classroom, a way to let kids recommend their favorite titles without having to get up in front of everyone and do a book talk, and an easy way to offer a more personal recommendation than just the flap copy offers.

All descriptions from the publishers. Transcriptions of the Post-It notes are below each description. Reading those is your best bet—carpal tunnel has made my handwriting mostly a disaster.

Midnight at the Shelter by Nanci Turner Steveson (ISBN-13: 9780062673213 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 11/01/2022, Ages 8-12)

Written with a distinctively doggy voice, great humor, and plenty of heart, this novel from acclaimed author Nanci Turner Steveson is a perfect pick for readers looking for a touching animal story in the vein of Because of Winn-Dixie or Marley & Me.

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Rescue dog MahDi is happy helping his human partner, "MomDoc," with the important work at her vet clinic and the local animal shelter. The two of them make a good team, caring for the town's pets and matchmaking rescue animals with the families who need them.

When the shelter is suddenly down a staff member, the animals have to deal with a new caretaker: Huck, an unpleasant man who seems to have no problem threatening the animals he's supposed to care for. As more dogs crowd into the shelter than are going to new homes, MahDi begins to worry that if MomDoc isn't around, there is no telling what Huck might do.

With three perfectly good legs, the heart of a true leader, and his pack mates by his side, MahDi is willing to risk everything to save his shelter-friends from an uncertain future.

(POST-IT SAYS: The stories of many dogs are told as they seek safety, stability, and forever homes. Lots of mistreatment and hardship before the dogs find help and hope, so sensitive readers may want to skim/skip those parts.)

Bunnicula: The Graphic Novel by James Howe, Andrew Donkin, Stephen Gilpin (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781534421615 Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Publication date: 08/30/2022 Series: Bunnicula and Friends Series, Ages 8-12)

Celebrate over forty years of the modern classic Bunnicula with this fang-tastic graphic novelization that will send a shiver down your spine and leave you howling with laughter!

Beware the hare!

Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household—a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits…and fangs! Could this innocent-seeming rabbit actually be a vampire? Experience the chills and thrills of this classic tale in an all-new graphic novel format!

(POST-IT SAYS: Perfectly captures the humor and atmosphere of the original. This format adds so much to the enjoyment of the story. Chester and Harold's expressions are priceless. So fun!)

Deadly Hearts: History's Most Dangerous People by Michael Burgan, Karl James Mountford (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9780593386675 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 12/27/2022, Ages 8-12)

A visually dynamic companion to the biographical collection Dark Hearts, this collection of biographies details the cruel and often horrifying lives of history's most notorious – and deadly – people.

Over centuries and around the world, there is a long history of ruthless people who have wreaked havoc to get what they want. Whether empire-building or simply displaying a cruel streak, is there any excuse for the actions of people who have been responsible for the deaths of so many? Find out in these sixteen biographies of men and women throughout history who have left their deadly mark on history. From Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler to Adolf Hitler, readers will learn the wicked origins of the world's most dangerous people.

(POST-IT SAYS: A beautifully designed book full of expressive illustrations and disturbing details of the acts of some of the world's most notorious people. Will easily appeal to readers interested in the worst, most horrific parts of history.)

Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club: Roll Call by Molly Knox Ostertag, Xanthe Bouma (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9780063039247 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 11/29/2022 Series: Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club #1, Ages 8-12)

From New York Times bestselling author Molly Knox Ostertag and critically acclaimed illustrator Xanthe Bouma comes an all-new Dungeons & Dragons graphic novel series!

Middle school is a dungeon… At least, that's how Jess sees it.

Luckily, she and her best friend Olivia know how to escape into the sprawling worlds of their own imaginations. The two friends have always loved making up stories, first with little kid games of make-believe, and more recently with the fantasy roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons. When they play, Olivia runs the game as Dungeon Master and Jess is the solo party member, playing a take-no-prisoners, lone-wolf fighter of her own design named Sir Corius.

But when Olivia wants to add new players to their group, Jess finds herself struggling to share their game—and her best friend. Will their epic campaign withstand all this change, or has their adventure—and their friendship—finally come to an end?

(POST-IT SAYS: Loved it! Fantastic art, well-developed characters, and lots of middle school drama that gets worked out both in real life and in the D&D sessions. Can't wait to see what's next for this newly-formed friend gang.)

Light a Candle: A Story of Chinese American Pioneers on Gold Mountain by Jean Kuo Lee, Eric Freeberg (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781631636899 Publisher: North Star Editions Publication date: 01/01/2023 Series: I Am America Set 5, Ages 8-10)

It's 1864, and many have come to seek their fortune in the gold-laden mountains of California. Emma Fong, the booksmart and streetwise daughter of a respected Chinese merchant, is more than able to hold her own in the one-room schoolhouse of the mining town of La Porte. But when the town hires a stiff-necked teacher with staunch views against the Chinese, Emma's life crumbles. As the teacher stokes anti-Asian sentiment among Emma's neighbors, Emma must believe in herself and the strengths of her people to survive the growing hate. Will she be able to stake a permanent claim of her own as an American in the Wild West?

It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people whose voices have been excluded, lost, or forgotten over time.

Brave Bird at Wounded Knee: A Story of Protest on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
by Rachel Bithell, Eric Freeberg (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781631636851 Publisher: North Star Editions Publication date: 01/01/2023 Series: I Am America Set 5. Ages 8-10)

It's 1973, and in Denver, Colorado, Patsy Antoine doesn't usually give much thought to her relatives living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After all, her classmates don't even know she's part Lakota. Then she learns the tiny town of Wounded Knee has been occupied. Now Patsy's relatives are stuck amid the conflict between American Indian Movement activists and Oglala Lakota tribe members on the one side, and federal marshals and FBI agents on the other. When Patsy visits her relatives on Pine Ridge, she learns more about her heritage and the clashing perspectives on the Wounded Knee occupation. As she connects with her roots, Patsy must grapple with the complexities of the conflict and of being biracial.

It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people whose voices have been excluded, lost, or forgotten over time.

(POST-IT SAYS: Many students asked me for these when they saw me reading them at school. Really engaging looks at events and eras in history. These feel carefully researched and sensitive. Short but important and informational reads with wide appeal.)

Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet (ISBN-13: 9780358567356 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 11/29/2022, Ages 14-17)

Sharp and subversive, this delightfully messy YA rom-com offers a sly wink to the classic Little Women, as teenage Jo Porter rebels against living in the shadow of her literary namesake.
Lit's about to hit the fan. Jo Porter has had enough Little Women to last a lifetime. As if being named after the sappiest family in literature wasn't sufficiently humiliating, Jo's mom, ahem Marmee, leveled up her Alcott obsession by turning their rambling old house into a sad-sack tourist attraction.

Now Jo, along with her siblings, Meg and Bethamy (yes, that's two March sisters in one), spends all summer acting out sentimental moments at Little Women Live!, where she can feel her soul slowly dying.

So when a famed photojournalist arrives to document the show, Jo seizes on the glimpse of another life: artsy, worldly, and fast-paced. It doesn't hurt that the reporter's teenage son is also eager to get up close and personal with Jo—to the annoyance of her best friend, aka the boy next door (who is definitely not called Laurie). All Jo wants is for someone to see the person behind the prickliness and pinafores.

But when she gets a little too real about her frustration with the family biz, Jo will have to make peace with kitsch and kin before their livelihood suffers a fate worse than Beth.

(POST-IT SAYS: A particularly fun read if you have the source material mostly memorized and like your Jos really surly and your Amys totally insufferable. Full of banter and bickering, this was an entertaining read.)

Improve: How I Discovered Improv and Conquered Social Anxiety by Alex Graudins (ISBN-13: 9781250208231 Publisher: First Second Publication date: 09/06/2022, Ages 14-18)

A graphic memoir for teens about the author's efforts to overcome her social anxiety by learning improv comedy.

Alex has crippling social anxiety. All day long, she is trapped in a web of negative thoughts and paralyzing fear. To pull herself free of this endless cycle, Alex does something truly terrifying: she signs up for an improv comedy class. By forcing herself to play silly games and act out ridiculous scenes, Alex confronts the unbearable weight of embarrassment, makes new friends, rediscovers parts of herself that she'd hidden away, and ultimately faces her greatest fear by performing onstage for all to see.

(POST-IT SAYS: I love graphic memoirs, especially about mental health stuff. I admire Graudins for pushing through the anxiety and self-doubt to do improv—a terrifying concept to me. Great art and a super deep dive into the world of improv.)

My Red, White, and Blue by Alana Tyson, London Ladd (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9780593525708 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 01/17/2023, Ages 4-8)

A powerful story about the mixture of pride and pain that one Black family finds in the American flag, and an invitation for each of us to choose how we relate to America, its history, and the flag that means so many things to so many people.

What does the American flag mean to you?

For some, it's a vision of hope and opportunity. For others, it represents pain and loss. And for many, it's more complicated than that—a symbol of a nation where the basic ideas of freedom and equality are still up for debate.

From slavery and segregation through Rosa Parks and Barack Obama, the history of Black people in America is a mixture of pride and pain. And while the flag might mean different things to different people, with some choosing to kneel and others to salute, ultimately, it is up to each of us to decide: the American flag is ours to see and relate to as we choose.

In this powerfully validating story that showcases many facets of Black American history through the eyes of a young Black boy in conversation with his grandfather, we are all invited to choose how to relate to America, and to the flag that means so many things to so many people.

(POST-IT SAYS: An effective and necessary look at patriotism, history, protest, pride, and using your voice. The beautiful art adds so much to the text.)

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