Staff Reads: July 2020
What has the CBC staff been reading lately?
Shaina
Anatomicum by Jennifer Z. Paxton; illus by Katy Wiedemann (Big Picture Press, Candlewick Press 2019)
Another stunning addition to the Welcome to the Museum series, this large format book combines mesmerizing illustrations with so much interesting information about the human body and how it works. It is comprehensive but easy to navigate. I am obsessed with the illustrations and could pour over them for hours.
Sommer
Straight On Till Morning: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell (Disney-Hyperion, February 2020)
I loved this different take on an old classic! How does Wendy get to Neverland if Peter Pan doesn’t take her there? She decides to ask Captain Hook! What follows is a delightful, adventurous journey as she navigates her way through Neverland, meeting all the familiar characters and creatures, as well as some new ones, along the way.
John
Scott Pilgrim Color Collection Vol. 1 by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press, July 2019)
Scott Pilgrim was a book that defined my teenage years and I go back now and read it yearly. This year I had the pleasure of reading the Color Collection Vol. 1 which contains the first two Scott Pilgrim stories. This book is just as fun now as it was 15+ years ago and I cannot wait to move on to volumes 2 and 3 for more battles with the seven evil exes.
Jules
Along Came Coco By Eva Byrne (Abrams, 2019)
The ever-fashionable Coco Chanel is drawn in a new light with this delightful storybook. Painting her childhood in the orphanage, it showed Coco’s ingenuity and creativity to tackle women’s fashion. I loved the illustrations and the history of how Coco Chanel became an iconic fashion designer
Laura
Five on the Bed By Addie Boswell (West Margin Press, October 2020)
What a delightful counting book in papercut style! Boswell does an amazing job balancing cuteness and hilarity with her textured art and words. The storytelling was so vivid and cozy, that all I wanted to do was jump on that comfy bed.
Jena
Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns: A Mesoamerican Creation Myth written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams, September 2020)
This is a fabulously creative book with great lessons along the way. The ones that stood out to me were perseverance through hard work, considering multiple, creative options to define success, and what it looks like to stand with the collective sometimes over the individual all of the time.
Ryan
Bone #2: The Great Cow Race written and illustrated by Jeff Smith (Scholastic Graphix, 2005)
As a self-prescribed antidote to current stresses, I read this delightful graphic novel. In The Great Cow Race the Bone cousins, Gran’ma Ben, her granddaughter Thorn, and the entire town are preparing for the main event. Bets are placed, including the Barrelhaven Tavern, and the humorously inept Rat Creatures enter the race. This middle grade fantasy classic is packed with empathetic characters and charm.
Carl
Geeky F@b 5 Vol. 3: DOGgone CATastrophe by Lucy & Liz Lareau; illus. by Ryan Jampole, Suzannah Rowntree & Scott Couto (Papercutz, 2019)
A vibrant and fun graphic novel about 5 young women working to save the day for a damaged pet shelter. The co-author is 12 and has a great voice of female empowerment and good deeds.
