Lake Effect has invited some notable authors for younger readers in the studio in the recent past, from national names like Kwame Alexander, to local authors such as Sandy Brehland Deanna Singh.
But there are far more names and titles worth knowing, so Boswell Book Company's children's book buyer Amie Mechler-Hickson and children's book events planner Todd Wellman suggest some titles (released and upcoming) that younger readers will be talking about this spring:
One dominant trend Mechler-Hickson has noticed in a number of children's books is how kids deal with grief:
Matylda, Bright and Tender - "It's really a great friendship between these two kids...and they bond through taking care of this pet," she explains. "Something happens and one of the children is left to kind of pick up the pieces and try to figure out how to go on when the unthinkable happens...I think it's a really good meditation on what kids are going through and it handles it really sensitively."
Orphan Island - "It is not Lord of the Flies. Actually it is quite cooperative...But you never find out why their raising themselves, you never find out what keeps this world going. There's hints, but you do have to be able to deal with ambiguity to read this. It's a great world, and I'm not always good with ambiguity but I loved this book," says Mechler-Hickson.
Wellman notes that any book by John David Anderson or Dana Allison Levy will always be a "reliable, wonderful middle grade recommendation. Pick up anything by them, it's going to be well-written, it's going to be good."
He highlights the latest Anderson book, Posted, which explores what kids would do if their school banned cell phones. "In this case, the kids take up post-it noting all over the school," says Wellman. "With that you learn that the bullying, the nice things don't just get stuck in the form of communication, they do transfer over."
Another trend he noticed was a lot of books highlighting lesser-known women or written from a female's perspective, such as Shark Lady: The True Story of how Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist and Margaret and the Moon.
"There are just a lot of these great books that are giving you the perspective of women, real or near-real, and not just trending, but these are the kind of books I think we're going to see people sharing with each other as well," says Wellman. "So often the girl is a helper, or the girl is silent, or the girl exists just to help the boy succeed somehow and that is not what I'm finding in a number of these books...We're seeing people to look up to, not just people to deal with."
A favorite of Mechler-Hickson that is written from a female perspective is Amina's Voice. Set in Milwaukee, "it's a great story about identity, who we are, keeping your culture and at the same time fitting in with the rest of the world in a new place....It's a great book for kids who may not have been exposed to another religion, another country's culture, to kind of peak through that window. And it's also nice to have a mirror for people who are from those areas."
There are many great picture books to come, including humorous and interactive ones such as Life on Mars, Zebra on the Go, I'm Awake! and The Teacher's Pet.
"You still get the wonder of the pictures...but you also get the facts. And I think in the last few years, especially with Common Core, we've seen an improvement in a lot of non-fiction picture books," says Mechler-Hickson.
Another trend in books to come this spring is "a sensitivity to kids who are different and not pigeon-holing these kids," according to Wellman. For example, Tidy is about a badger who wants to be clean and helpful, but gets carried away and destroys the forest inadvertently. Mechler-Hickson notes that Sparkle Boy is "just adorable, a very sweet family book" that is about a sister deciding whether to defend her brother, who likes sparkly things, in public from bullies.
Wellman also notes that Rulers of the Playgroundis full of "great wonderful pictures and a good lesson about communication."
