This week on the Butler Bookshelf, we’re transported back to World War II with Kiku Hughes’ latest graphic novel. In Displacement, a contemporary teenager finds herself pulled back in time to the Japanese-American internment camp her grandmother was forcibly relocated to. The time travels keep recurring until she becomes stuck in the past, learning about a history she was never taught in school. For more great reads, check out the list below!

Displacement
Written and illustrated by Kiku Hughes
Published by First Second
Available now!

Mad About Plaid
Written and illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

We Were Restless Things
Written by Cole Nagamatsu
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Available now!

Even If We Break
Written by Marieke Nijkamp
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Available now!

The Big One: The Cascadia Earthquakes and the Science of Saving Lives 
Written by Elizabeth Rusch
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Test This Book!: A laugh-out-loud picture book about experiments and science!
Written and illustrated by Louie Zong
Published by Imprint
Available now!

This week on the Butler Bookshelf, we’re excited to read Amy Tintera’s new YA novel, All These Monsters. Tintera’s heroine is Clara, a teenage girl who joins an international monster-fighting squad. As Clara goes through training, she discovers the less glamorous side of monster fighting–and learns that sometimes monsters are not who you think. For more great reads, check out the list below!

A Place At The Table
Written by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Published by Clarion Books
Available now!

A Pinch of Magic
Written by Michelle Harrison
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Splinters of Scarlet
Written by Emily Bain Murphy
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Secrets of the Silver Lion (Carmen Sandiego)
Written by Emma Otheguy
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

When Villains Rise (Market of Monsters Book 3) 
Written by Rebecca Schaeffer
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

All These Monsters
Written by Amy Tintera
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Mañanaland
Written by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Published by Scholastic Press
Ages 8-12
Available now!

Every night, Maximiliano’s Buelo weaves him stories of mystical bridges and a magical gatekeeper who aids travelers on their journey into tomorrow. During the day, Max’s head is full of his father’s rules, his bridge-building apprenticeship, and fútbol. Now that he is eleven, he is eligible to try out for Santa Maria’s village team. Maybe he can play professionally, just like his Papá and his Buelo. But when a new policy mandates a birth certificate for eligibility to join the team, Max’s hopes fade. His birth certificate vanished years ago, just like his mother. Max’s mother left the family when he was a baby. No one speaks of her; there are not even any photographs to remember her by. When Max’s Papá leaves to request a new birth certificate from a nearby city, Max sets out to find the truth about his mother. What he discovers is that the stories his Buelo told him are based in reality: Max’s comes from a line of guardians who help those fleeing the dictatorship of a neighboring country, Abismo. Those who fled the terror of their homeland are called the hidden ones. They sought refuge in La Reina Gigante, a tower set amidst the ruins near his home. What’s more Max’s mother was one of them. As Max seeks his mother, he joins his family in the guardian tradition when he is called on to ferry a girl only a few years younger than him to safety. Pam Muñoz Ryan immerses the reader into Santa Maria life: the village council, the local gossip, and the meddlesome families. Ryan blends typical middle grade woes such as jealousy over a best friend’s wandering attention or being too young to do anything fun with heightened stakes. The mystery of Mañanaland and where Max’s mother has vanished are the same, and their answer is inconclusive. Mañanaland is hope, a dream to keep the weary pressing onwards to tomorrow. Mañanaland’s exploration of morality, self-knowledge, and family make this a worthy addition to a children’s or middle grade collection.

For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, J. Albert Mann’s new historical novel The Degenerates has captured our attention. Mann portrays four young women in the early twentieth century whose lives intersect when they are locked up by a world that took the poor, the disabled, the marginalized-and institutionalized them for life. For more great reads, check out the list below!

The Mysterious Messenger
Written by Gilbert Ford
Published by Henry Holt and Co. Books For Young Readers
Available now!

Backward Science
Written by Clive Gifford and illustrated by Anne Wilson
Published by QEB Publishing
Available now!

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Chemistry for Kids
Written by Liz Lee Heinecke
Published by Quarry Books
Available now!

Joy
Written by Yasmeen Ismail and illustrated by Jenni Desmond
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

The Degenerates
Written by J. Albert Mann
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Wheels
Written by Sally Sutton and illustrated by Brian Lovelock
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

The Environment: Explore, Create and Investigate! (What On Earth series)
Written by Jonathan Litton and illustrated by Pau Morgan
Published by Quarto Publishing
Available September 22, 2020
Ages 6-12 years

This introduction to the earth’s environment blends foundational information on biodiversity and the ozone layer, with how humans play a part in the planet’s safekeeping. Jonathan Litton divides the nonfiction picture book into different learning-focused pages (Explore, Investigate, and Create) with themed pages that go deep into topics  such as carbon dioxide and its role in global warming. Explore pages impart fact-based information against colorful, educational illustrations. Pau Morgan prominently features humans in their artwork, reinforcing humanity’s effects on the world around them. Color-coded topic tagging, factoid bubbles, and illustration-based puzzles draw readers into the surprisingly dense subject matter. Investigate pages offer observation-based science activities, such as recreating an oil spill with common kitchen ingredients or tracking animals that frequent a bird feeder. Create pages invite readers to put what they have learned into action, such as making a personal microhabitat; some of the Create activities are more labor intensive and require adult supervision. The Environment: Explore, Create and Investigate! features a glossary, index, and templates for activities featured in the book.

This week on the Butler Bookshelf, we turn to a new picture book written by Farhana Zia and illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman, Lali’s Feather. In this story, Lali finds a feather in a field–but is the feather lost? Lali sets out to return the feather to its owner, but no bird accepts it. Soon, Lali makes use of the feather for herself and the birds see its usefulness. For more great reads, check out the list below!

Be Amazing: A History of Pride
Written by Desmond is Amazing and illustrated by Dylan Glynn
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Noodle Bear
Written and illustrated by Mark Gravas
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention
Written by Pip Jones and illustrated by Sarah Ogilvie
Published by Simon & Schuster
Available now!

Secrets of the Witch: An Initiation Into Our History and Our Wisdom
Written by  Julie Légère and Elsa Whyte, illustrated by Laura Pérez
Published by Wide Eyed Editions
Available now!

Not An Alphabet Book The Case of the Missing Cake
Written by Eoin McLaughlin and illustrated by Marc Boutavant
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

Lali’s Feather
Written by Farhana Zia and illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
Published by Peachtree Publishing Company
Available now!

This week on the Butler Bookshelf, we cannot wait to read Imagina by Juan Felipe Herrera, U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. This Spanish-language illustrated poem is a beautiful and moving read of endless possibility. For more great reads, check out the list below!

Where Happiness Begins
Written and illustrated by Eva Eland
Published by Andersen Press
Available now!

Ollie and the Augustus
Written by Gabriel Evans
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

Imagina
Written by Juan Felipe Herrera and illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

Papa Brings Me the World
Written and illustrated by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Published by Henry Holt and Co.
Available now!

A Ben Of All Trades
Written by Michael J. Rosen and illustrated by Matt Tavares
Published by Candlewick
Available now!

The Blue House
Written and illustrated by Phoebe Wahl
Published Knopf Books for Young Readers
Available now!

The Blank Page: How a Piece of Paper Connects to Everything
Written by Alberto Blanco and illustrated by Rob Moss Wilson
Published by Plum Blossom
Available September 22, 2020
Ages 3-6

Poet Alberto Blanco begins this thoughtful, provocative picture book with a simple statement, “There is nothing here” (8). Or, rather, the reader does not see anything, for this is a blank page in a book. That blank page, however, is something. Imagine where the page comes from, the book instructs, from wood, a tree, a forest. How did this paper come to be? Who cared for the earth and the lumber? How was this tree processed, and by whom? Where was the wood sent? Blanco’s deceptively simple words welcome the audience to look beyond what is in front of us. . The picture books’ images reinforce the Blanco’s prose. A topic is suggested before its official introduction, allowing readers to envision and imagine what could be. A page later, the topic is made concrete and an image appears. Plain drawings set against a stark white background grow and grow; their detail remains hazy, inviting readers to use their imagination. As the occupants of the pages grow, so does the readers’ worldview As Blanco writes, “Look closely the next time you see a blank page… because it contains the whole universe.” (31-32). The picture book’s message is one of intentional awareness and understanding of the interconnectedness of the world.