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Reinberger
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Author: Sarah Bihn

Graphic Novel

Reinberger Review: “Miles Morales, Vol. 1, Straight Out of Brooklyn”

January 25, 2021January 6, 2021 Sarah Bihn

Miles Morales, Vol. 1, Straight Out of Brooklyn Ahmed, Saladin. (2019). Miles Morales, Vol. 1, Straight Out of Brooklyn. New York, NY: Marvel Worldwide, Inc. 136 pages. Audience: Grades 8+ Read more

Helping Your Child: Coping with Racism

January 25, 2021October 9, 2020 Sarah Bihn

According to Unicef Parenting, conversations about racism and discrimination will look different for every family. Though there is not one clear approach, the earlier the conversation is begun with children Read more

Uncategorized

7th Annual Mock Caldecott

January 24, 2021 Sarah Bihn

The 7th annual Mock Caldecott was hosted virtually by the RCLC on Friday, January 22, 2021. The 24 participants included six current KSU faculty members and a special guest speaker, Read more

Graphic Novel

Reinberger Review: “Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me”

January 18, 2021January 6, 2021 Sarah Bihn

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me Tamaki, Mariko. (2019). Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me. New York, NY: First Second. 289 pages. Audience: Grades 9+, High School Review Read more

Helping Your Child: Coping with Nightmares and Night Terrors

January 18, 2021October 9, 2020 Sarah Bihn

It is perfectly normal for children to experience both nightmares and night terrors. Below are resources to help you explain what is happening to your child. The difference between nightmares Read more

YA - Young Adult

Reinberger Review: “American Street”

January 11, 2021January 6, 2021 Sarah Bihn

American Street Zoboi, Ibi. (2017). American Street. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray. 324 pages. Audience – Grades 10+ Review by: Kayla Hlad (she/her) MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool Read more

Helping Your Child: Coping with Seriously Ill Family Members

January 11, 2021January 6, 2021 Sarah Bihn

While it might be difficult to talk with your child about a seriously ill family member for fear of scaring them, it is best to speak with children early on Read more

YA - Young Adult

Reinberger Review: “When Dimple Met Rishi”

January 4, 2021January 6, 2021 Sarah Bihn

When Dimple Met Rishi Menon, Sandhya. (2017). When Dimple Met Rishi. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. 380 pages. Audience – Grades 9+ Review by: Kayla Hlad (she/her) MLIS Student, Kent Read more

Helping Your Child: Coping With Bullying

January 4, 2021October 14, 2020 Sarah Bihn

According to Stopbullying.gov, the effects of bullying impact mental health, substance use, and even suicidal actions in children. It is important to speak to your children about what to do Read more

YA - Young Adult

Reinberger Review: “The Grace Year”

December 28, 2020January 6, 2021 Sarah Bihn

The Grace Year Liggett, Kim. (2019). The Grace Year. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Publishing Group. 408 pages. Audience – Grades 9+ Review by: Kayla Hlad (she/her) MLIS Student, Kent Read more

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Recent Posts

  • Reinberger Review: “Miles Morales, Vol. 1, Straight Out of Brooklyn”
  • Helping Your Child: Coping with Racism
  • 7th Annual Mock Caldecott
  • Reinberger Review: “Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me”
  • Helping Your Child: Coping with Nightmares and Night Terrors

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The Reinberger Children's Library Center at Kent State supports scholarly research and provides professional training to students and practitioners.

Reinberger Library Center
Miles Morales, Vol. 1, Straight Out of Brooklyn by Miles Morales, Vol. 1, Straight Out of Brooklyn by Saladin Ahmed, published by Marvel Worldwide, Inc in 2019.

Review by:
Kayla Hlad (she/her)
MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool

Type/Genre/tags: Graphic Novels, Superhero, Diverse Authors
Audience: Grades 8+

Miles Morales is the new spider man in New York. He lives in Brooklyn, not Queens, and his suit is darker. He’s half Puerto Rican and half black. But like the original Spiderman, he is a quirky, humble teen with a great heart and a love for his family, friends, and girlfriend. In this volume, Miles struggles to balance his school and social life with his nighttime gig watching over the city. His Vice Principal is increasingly and frustratingly suspicious of him, making his school life even harder. But Miles has more pressing concerns when he discovers that immigrant children are going missing. With help from some old and new friends, he saves the day, but there’s a lot Miles has left to think about. 

Miles Morals: Straight Out of Brooklyn is perfect for teens that enjoy graphic novels, witty humor, and social commentary. The illustrations are stunningly detailed with realistic imagery and colors that pop off the glossy pages. The illustrator is superbly skilled at capturing movement and expression and flawlessly depicts Spiderman’s grace and personality. The cover itself is a great example of the illustrator’s ability to speak with pictures; Spiderman’s body language is strong and inspiring, and the dark color palette reflects the often serious tone of this volume. Saladin Ahmed’s dialogue is also expertly crafted. Miles Morales’ jokes, intermittent, unapologetic use of Spanish, and even his use of bleeped out swear words make him feel effortlessly authentic and realistic. This authenticity helps the writer to explore serious themes of oppression, inequality, racism and cultural conflicts through Miles' eyes without feeling too forced by the author. Saladin contributed an engaging, witty, and insightful work to this increasingly popular series among teens.
According to Unicef Parenting, conversations about According to Unicef Parenting, conversations about racism and discrimination will look different for every family. Though there is not one clear approach, the earlier the conversation is begun with children the better. Below are a few resources to help parents understand how to start speaking to their children about racism. 

American Psychological Association (https://www.apa.org/res/parent-resources/)
Resources for Parents: Uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication About Race includes parenting tools, books about race and ethnicity, and featured blog entries.

ChildMind (https://childmind.org/article/racism-and-violence-how-to-help-kids-handle-the-news/)
Guidelines parents can keep in mind to help kids deal with troubling news about race and violence. Includes links to other resources that can aid you in continuing discussions about racism.

Parents (https://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/advice/how-to-teach-your-kids-to-fight-hate-an-age-by-age-guide/)
Anti-Racism for Kids: An Age-by-Age Guide to Fighting Hate discusses how to approach the topic of racism in age-appropriate ways.

For a complete list of resources, please go to https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/resources/parent-resources/helping-kids-to-cope-with-racism/
Before the winner of the 2021 Caldecott is announc Before the winner of the 2021 Caldecott is announced tomorrow, check out the  ALSC's 2021 Mock YMA Election Results at:
https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2021-mock-yma-election-results/
Happy birthday to children’s book writer and ill Happy birthday to children’s book writer and illustrator, Tedd Arnold. Arnold is well known for his Fly Guy books.
Today we remember the birthday of famous American Today we remember the birthday of famous American poet, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is best known for his short stories and poetry. Fans enjoy visiting his museum that you can explore here: https://www.poemuseum.org/who-was-edgar-allan-poe
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tam Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, published by First Second in 2019. 

Review by:
Kayla Hlad (she/her)
MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool

Type/Genre/Tags: Graphic Novel, Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQ+
Audience: Grades 9+, High School

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (2020 Michael L. Printz Honor Book) is an engaging, beautifully illustrated graphic novel that tells the story of a teenage girl named Freddy and her experience in a tumultuous relationship with Laura Dean. As we learn from Freddy’s emails to an advice columnist, no matter how many times Laura Dean breaks Freddy’s heart, Freddy can’t help but take her back. But when Freddy realizes that her attachment and Laura Dean’s inconsiderate behavior is starting to affect Freddy’s friendships and her sense of self, she realizes that she needs to consider making some difficult choices.

Teens can easily identify with Freddy and her conflicted feelings, as well as the well-developed supporting characters. The clothing styles and word choices depicted feel so authentically in the moment that the graphic novel reads like a film captured in a real high school. Mariko Tamaki’s illustrations are dynamic, stunning, and thrust this narrative forward with their uncanny ability to portray complex sentiments. The format of the pages are varied, keeping the reader engaged and exposing them to new layers of meaning and experience. The author’s artistic decision to bring selected moments and details alive with pink ink is fun, but also serves as a powerful tool to highlight elements that create strong affective reactions. The quality of the illustrations, character development, and dialogue is exceptionally high. What’s more, the relatable characters, much-needed representation of LGBTQ+ relationships, and theme of first love is sure to be popular with teens.
It is perfectly normal for children to experience It is perfectly normal for children to experience both nightmares and night terrors. Below are resources to help you explain what is happening to your child. The difference between nightmares and night terrors, according to Stanford Children’s Health, is that nightmares include frightening dreams that make children afraid to return to sleep while night terrors are a partial waking from sleep accompanied by movement or sound.

Kids Health (https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/nightmare.html)
This article discusses dreams and nightmares, when they occur in the sleep cycle, and what to do to prepare for the inevitable occurrence of a nightmare.

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/Night-Terrors)
Explains what night terrors are in more depth and also discusses the causes of and coping with night terrors.

Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-your-preschooler/201505/the-best-way-handle-children-s-nightmares)
Get to the reality of what is behind the bad dream by getting into the reality of the child’s everyday emotions. Five tips are given to aid in lessening the number of nightmares your child has.

For a complete list of resources, go to https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/helping-kids-to-cope-with-nightmares-and-night-terrors/
Today we remember the birthday of English author A Today we remember the birthday of English author A. A. Mline, best known for his Winnie-the-Pooh books.
Today we remember the birthday of American author, Today we remember the birthday of American author, Robert Cormier. He is best known for writing books for young adults. Check out the books on his website: https://www.robertcormier.com/books/bk_books.html.
Today we remember the birthday of English-born Ame Today we remember the birthday of English-born American Hugh Lofting, author of classic children’s literature series Dr. Dolittle.
Happy birthday to Sharon Robinson, author of many Happy birthday to Sharon Robinson, author of many fiction and non-fiction books and daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Check out the complete list of Robinson’s books on her website: http://www.sharonrobinsonink.com/books-new
Today we celebrate the birthday of American author Today we celebrate the birthday of American author and journalist, Jack London. He is best known for his novels The Call of the Wild and White Fang.
American Street by Ibi Zoboi, published by Balzer American Street by Ibi Zoboi, published by Balzer + Bray in 2017. 

Review by:
Kayla Hlad (she/her)
MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool

Type/Genre/tags: Contemporary Fiction, Own Voice, Diverse Authors
Audience - Grades 10+

Fabiola was born in America but has lived most of her life in Haiti with her mother. At the start of American Street, they attempt to return to the US and reestablish themselves with Fabiola’s family on the corner of Joy Road and American Street, only for her mother to be detained at the airport. Understandably, when a detective offers to help Fabiola see her mother again in exchange for information about a drug dealer, the offer is appealing. But as she bonds with her cousins, her aunt, and her new boyfriend, things become more complicated. Guided by her prayers and her traditional vudu practices, Fabiola creates her path, but it’s not a painless journey.

Ibi Zoboi’s American Street is a powerful Own Voice novel that will draw in teens who are interested in social issues of immigration, racism, police violence, and economic inequality.  Fabiola is an extremely likable and relatable character, and readers will love to root for her. Fabiola offers a much-needed representation that’s rare in young adult literature and empowering to so many teens. The cover is stunning and appealing to teens, embracing Fabiola’s ethnicity while also creating an aesthetically pleasing and artistic impression to match the tone of the novel. This story is full of twists and turns, yet depict realistically tragic events that are intertwined with intriguing magic realism. The author’s imagery, metaphors, and symbolism are beyond beautiful and skillfully add in social commentary that is important to teens today. This is a spectacular novel for those who love The Hate U Give and teens who are yearning for realistic and diverse portrayals of American teen life.
While it might be difficult to talk with your chil While it might be difficult to talk with your child about a seriously ill family member for fear of scaring them, it is best to speak with children early on and to be honest about the situation. Even when parents or caregivers have the best intentions for keeping the information from their children, children can pick up on tensions, and will often become worried or fearful no matter what the parent says or does not say. 

Bright Horizons (https://www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/talking-with-children-about-the-serious-illness-of-a-family-member)
Bright Horizons explains the need to include your child in discussions about the illness of a family member starting with preparation for the conversation, starting the conversation, and how to support your healthy child.

Liana Lowenstein, MSW and Brianne Thompson, MSW, RSW (http://www.lianalowenstein.com/articlesTerminalIllnes.pdf)
This article is by two social workers and covers: Talking with your children about illness, what to tell children based upon their ages, how to talk with children about dying, special considerations when a child’s sibling is ill, activities that the family can do together, activities for a parent to do for a child, and selected additional reading for children, and for parents.

Parents (https://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/advice/what-to-do-when-a-parent-is-sick/)
A parent's illness is scary for children. These tips can help put your kids at ease.

For a full list of resources, please go to https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/resources/parent-resources/helping-kids-to-cope-with-a-seriously-ill-family-member/
Today we remember the birthday of American writer, Today we remember the birthday of American writer, Walter R. Brooks. Brooks is best remembered for his children’s books and short stories, which includes Freddy the Pig.
Happy birthday to American children’s author and Happy birthday to American children’s author and illustrator, Lynne Cherry. Cherry is well known for her best selling book The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. Check out her blog, books and movies on her website: http://www.lynnecherry.com/index.htm
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, published When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, published by Simon Pulse in 2017.

Review by:
Kayla Hlad (she/her)
MLIS Student, Kent State University iSchool

Type/Genre/tags: Contemporary Fiction, Teen Romance, Own Voice, Diverse Authors
Audience: Grades 9+

Sandhya Menon offers a refreshing and well-written Own Voice perspective in the world of teen romance in When Dimple Met Rishi. Dimple just graduated high school and is ecstatic that her parents are letting her take a summer program in app development. Little does she know, her parents are using this opportunity to give Dimple time to get to know Rishi, a potential candidate for an arranged marriage. Rishi and Dimple’s contrasting opinions about the prospect creates conflict from the start. But as they get to know each other, they prove to be destined for a natural friendship and a supportive, romantic relationship that helps them both to grow.

Menon is highly effective at creating whole, realistic personas which encourages the readers to root for each character as an individual and as a couple. Their story reads true and authentic, and the two tackle real issues as Menon explores relatable themes of otherness, friendships, relationships, and adulthood. Most significantly, the author presents the stories of characters who are seldom seen in the genre, while giving them the space both to consider the unique issues they face as children of immigrants and those universal to the teen experience. Notably, the main characters’ ethnicity isn’t hidden behind a pretty, symbolic cover, but is highlighted and celebrated by putting a real image of a teen that looks like Dimple on the cover. The plot of this novel is predictable, but often that’s exactly what teens are looking for when they pick up a novel in this genre. It’s a fun read for anyone who loves teen romance.
According to Stopbullying.gov, the effects of bull According to Stopbullying.gov, the effects of bullying impact mental health, substance use, and even suicidal actions in children. It is important to speak to your children about what to do if they are being bullied or know someone who is. Conversations about the impact that bullying has on others are a necessity in every household. Below are a few resources that provide more information on how to identify the effects of bullying and how to approach the situation.

Cyberbullying Research Center (http://www.cyberbullying.us/)
Includes sections on resources, laws, research, presentations, blog, and books.

Isafe.org (http://www.isafe.org/)
i-SAFE is a nonprofit foundation “dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth”. The resource provides free preview of webcasts, as well as a teen hangout, are available.

StopBullying.gov (https://www.stopbullying.gov/)
This website provides information from various government agencies on what bullying is, what cyberbullying is, who is at risk, and how you can prevent and respond to bullying.

For a full list of resources, go to https://reinbergerchildrensbookreviews.org/resources/parent-resources/helping-kids-to-cope-with-bullying/
Happy birthday to Alma Flor Ada, well known Cuban- Happy birthday to Alma Flor Ada, well known Cuban-American author of children’s books, poetry and novels. Check out her publications for children and adults on her website: http://almaflorada.com/
Today we remember English author of children’s b Today we remember English author of children’s books, Mary Norton. Norton is best known for The Borrowers series.
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RCLCkentstateReinberger Children's Library Center@RCLCkentstate·
23 Apr

We have been updating our YouTube Storytime Playlist! Check it out here: http://ow.ly/C5rB50zmHnQ #operationstorytime #savewithstories

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RCLCkentstateReinberger Children's Library Center@RCLCkentstate·
22 Apr

Enjoy this #EarthDay storytime from @MuseumofCityNY, including readings of "All That Trash" by @meghanauthor and "City Green" by @dyannedisalvo: https://youtube.com/watch?v=muNFjjtBF5A #EarthDay2020 #EarthDay50

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