This classic has been on my bookshelves for as long as I can remember, and is not only a wonderful children's story but a celebration of one aspect of the wild beauty of my home state of Maine. While Blueberries for Sal never comes out and gives a location (aside from "Blueberry Hill"), it's not difficult to imagine that this story is based in Maine (like several of McCloskey's others), given that Maine is pretty much the world capital for wild blueberries (one of the few fruit crops that's native to North America).

When I came back to this book as an adult, I could remember the gist of the narrative -- how Sal and a baby bear get mixed up, with each following the other's mother (as both mothers are quite focused on their task of finding blueberries for the winter). But what I find most endearing about this book is the way McCloskey's illustrations so perfectly capture the mannerisms of a toddler. Sal is capable of great focus on picking, but also an inability to keep more than three blueberries in her pail without eating them. Whether it's the facial expressions or the overall strap that's perpetually falling off her shoulder, Sal is the epitome of a cute and curious toddler who is satisfied by simple things.

I used this book with my son in pre-k for "B week." After reading it, we ate blueberries and "brown bears" (chocolate teddy grahams) for snack. 

Scrounged From: A gift for our child

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Robert McCloskey
Pages: 56
Content Advisory: None

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Letters to a Prisoner is a wordless picture book that communicates quite a bit through a story of a man who is arrested for peaceful protest, and is encouraged (and eventually freed) with the aid of letters written by people around the world. 

The story is understandably simplified, with the opposing political factions in the beginning simply denoted by different-colored shapes. Letters become symbolic of flight and freedom all through the story, and a lovely fantastical image helps to illuminate this idea even more at the end.

A note at the end explains that this story is meant to illustrate what can happen (and has) during Amnesty International's Write for Rights events. I had never heard of this before, so I went and looked into it more after finishing the story. 

I definitely felt inspired after reading this, though it also serves as a reminder that not everyone in the world has the same rights that many of us enjoy. I probably would not read this to a preschooler (the images show people being hit and the man being separated from his young child in a fight, which might be upsetting for young children), but it's easy enough for an adult reader to preview for age-appropriateness. 

(Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author/Illustrator: Jacques Goldstyn
Pages: 48
Content Advisory: See final paragraph above.

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I really enjoyed this informative book about the life of Andrew Carnegie. I thought the pace of the story was well done -- it covered important information without getting bogged down in words, and the illustrations were nice too. 

The narrative traces Carnegie's life from his poor beginnings in Scotland, to working his way up from factory worker to steel mogul in America, and then focuses on his charitable work building libraries all over the world. 

At the end there were a couple pages of more detailed information, including the aside that Carnegie's relationship with his workers was "complicated," noting how he clashed with employees who were trying to unionize. Although this wasn't what the book was about, I appreciated this tidbit because it helped avoid putting Carnegie on too much of a pedestal -- though it was certainly inspiring to read about how he believed his riches were for giving away, and rather than just starting "charities," he truly wanted to empower people to help themselves.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Andrew Larsen
Illustrator: Katty Maurey
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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I wasn't expecting to like this adaptation of Anne of Green Gables as much as I did. I'm not generally a graphic novel person, and at first I was a bit thrown off by the pupil-less eyes of all the characters, but by the end I was very drawn into it and surprised/sad that it was over so quickly. The scenes are well done and the landscape art is especially beautiful (there seems to be a lot of green, which is so fitting).

Certainly I would recommend reading the actual novel first, but after enjoying that as a teen as well as many viewings of the original movie, this distillation of the humor and poignancy of those scenes came back to me quite easily, and I was happy to rediscover my favorite Avonlea characters in graphic novel form.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Mariah Marsden
Illustrator: Brenna Thummler
Pages: 232
Content Advisory: None

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I found Quiet Girl in a Noisy World to be a very relatable book. There were quite a few pages here I absolutely could have written (if I had this kind of artistic talent, that is). This is the perfect book of comics for an introvert, and would especially appeal to introverts who struggle (or have struggled) with shyness and social anxiety too. 

There is a loose narrative here that follows the author through finishing college, getting married, and getting (and leaving) a job, but it doesn't have to be read in chronological order to be enjoyed. I wasn't intending to rip right through this, but I found myself losing track of how much I was reading, because it's an easy read, and each vignette of introvert life made me want the next one.

I liked the "battery indicator" that showed up sometimes as a visual for how social activity can exhaust introverts. Other topics include: self-doubt and overthinking, love of books, love of solitude, and coming to terms with being who you are. And the artwork was beautiful too.

I also loved the comics that showed how she and her extroverted husband balance each other out -- it's a lovely visual about appreciating different people's strengths and weaknesses.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author/Illustrator: Debbie Tung
Pages: 184
Content Advisory: None

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